Lecours Wolfson » Hotels

After a Rough Night, Hotel Investors Are Waking Up

Jordan Romoff — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:06:16 +0000

“IS this as bad as it gets? For two years, big investors watched the implosion of the lodging industry as hotel values plummeted more than 50 percent. Now as private equity giants like the Blackstone Group and entrepreneurs like Richard Branson are diving into the sector, others are starting to think it has finally hit bottom and may be bouncing back.”

Read the complete article from nytimes.com…

Revamped hotels are prepped for an industry recovery (theglobeandmail.com)

Jordan Romoff — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:23:37 +0000

“Hoteliers aren’t exactly breaking open the champagne now that occupancy and room rates are inching up, but those who have committed to upgrades and renovations are feeling splashes of hope that their investments are paying off or will soon reap benefits.

InterContinental Hotels Group (owner of Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Candlewood Suites and others), Starwood Hotels and Resorts (Westin, Sheraton and Meridien, for example) and other accommodation interests are competing for consumer loyalty with the return of business traveller traffic during this economic recovery.”

Read more…

Boutique hotel vs. chain reliability (theglobeandmail.com)

Jordan Romoff — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:18:21 +0000

This is an interesting comparison, from the Business Traveller’s ‘experience’ perspective, between Boutique (i.e. Opus Hotel, Vancouver) and Chain (i.e. Marriott Hotel, Calgary) Hotels.

Read more…

Geolo Acquires Los Angeles Landmark – JDV to Manage

brent — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:33:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES—Geolo Capital, the private equity arm of the John A. Pritzker family, has acquired the 250-room Custom Hotel here. Joie de Vivre Hospitality will manage the hotel.

The acquisition is the first transaction for the $150 million fund established this summer by Geolo Capital to fuel Joie de Vivre’s growth and national expansion. Geolo, which acquired a controlling interest in Joie de Vivre earlier this year from Founder Chip Conley, plans to acquire $300 million to $500 million of hospitality assets over the next five years and grow the number of Joie de Vivre- managed properties from the current 34 to more than 50 via new third-party management agreements, joint ventures and acquisitions.

Opened in 1975 and known for many years as the Furama Hotel, the property was re-launched as the Custom Hotel in fall 2007 following a reported $20 million-plus renovation by the Los Angeles-based Palisades Development Group. Custom’s 12-story hotel tower originally was designed by Welton Becket, one of L.A.’s leading mid-century architects, and the hotel’s modern lines are offset by minimalist design touches, a sleek two-level pool deck and bar, and panoramic city and ocean views.

The transaction was brokered by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.

Bob Boyle, Benchmark Regional VP, Dies

brent — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 18:02:05 +0000

THE WOODLANDS, TX—Bob Boyle, regional vice president for Benchmark Hospitality International and general manager of Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii, died suddenly September 17. He was 62.

Boyle was promoted to the regional position in July 2009, adding to his responsibilities as vp/general manager of Benchmark’s 443-room, offshore flagship property located on Oahu’s North Shore.

Please click on the link to read the entire article http://tinyurl.com/2cslblv

Lecours Wolfson would like to wish the Boyle family and the Benchmark team all the best during this difficult period.

Avington Financial launching a hotel buyout fund called Avingstone – has the luxury hotel market reached a bottom?

Jordan Romoff — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:14:39 +0000

HOSPITALITY BECKONS – Canadian duo David Mongeau and Piers Talalla are calling the bottom of the European luxury hotels market (The Globe and Mail)

www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/hospitality-beckons/article1337893/

‘PKF Forecasts More Guests in 2010 (With a Catch)’ – Hotel News Resource

Jordan Romoff — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:16:34 +0000

PKF Hospitality Research (PKF-HR) today announced that, according to an advance release of the September 2009 edition of Hotel Horizons(R), nine consecutive quarters of declining lodging demand will come to an end in the second quarter of 2010. ‘With the budgeting process underway at hotels around the U.S., the recovery of lodging demand is an important milestone that will be reached in the year ahead,’ said R. Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality Research. ‘The catch; however, is that the practice of price discounting has firmly taken hold, and, as a result, room rates are expected to decline once again in 2010.’

Click here to go to Hotel News Resource (www.hotelnewsresource.com/HNR-detail-sid-40593.html)