The omicron variant stifled business for Ryman Hospitality Properties at the start of the year, but the Nashville, Tennessee-based hotel owner managed to surge to a strong finish by the end of the quarter.
Ryman reported Monday after the stock market closed that occupancy had dropped to 32.8% in January across its hotels, the largest of which are the Gaylord Palms near Orlando, the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, the Gaylord Texan near Dallas, the Gaylord Rockies near Denver and the Gaylord National near Washington. Marriott manages those properties.
By March, however, occupancy rose as fast as the new coronavirus cases declined to hit 63.3% in March. Colin Reed, CEO of Ryman, said in a statement that the average daily rate for hotel rooms was 14% higher than the same period in 2019.
“This was achieved despite overall occupancy rates that were nearly 16 points lower than the same period in 2019,” Reed said.
He said the second quarter started strong, giving the company confidence to issue guidance of net income in the range of $28.5 million to $32 million in the second quarter.
For the quarter, the REIT said it generated $299 million in revenue, 255% higher than the first quarter in 2021 when pandemic limitations were still largely in place. Gaylord National remained closed until June 2021.
The REIT’s revenues in the first quarter of 2019 topped $337 million, pulling in $29.4 million in net income. It recorded a $24.6 million loss in the recent quarter, down from the $104.5 million loss a year ago.
But funds from operations, a key performance measure for REITs, were $22.5 million, or 63 cents per share. Wall Street expected funds from operations to be about 15 cents higher per share.
In early April, Ryman announced that investment firm Atairos and its partner NBCUniversal paid $293 million for a 30% stake in Ryman’s Opry Entertainment Group, which houses the Grand Ole Opry and other nonhotel assets. The agreement could set up a potential spinoff into a separate public company.
The deal includes Block 21, an Austin, Texas, development that includes a hotel, office building and the theater where the longest running music television show, Austin City Limits, is aired. That deal still is expected to close in the second quarter.