In a year riddled with economic uncertainty, hoteliers continue to see growth ahead of them.
If there is one word that ties together the various profiles and companies featured in Hotel News Now through the early months of 2023, it is just that: growth. Companies across the globe and in different segments of the industry all agree that the stars are still aligning for further growth, with continued strong performance metrics even in the face of a possible recession.
Nick Kellock, chief operating officer at Concord Hospitality, said early signs in 2023 have been positive — especially when compared to a weak first quarter of 2022.
“So far, in the pace of bookings we have coming forward, and in terms of our January and February runs, we have not seen any kind of pulling back on the travel front,” he said. “We haven’t seen events being canceled. We haven’t seen newly introduced travel restrictions from companies.”
Luxury hotel collection The Leading Hotels of the World had a banner year in 2022 and expects more of the same in 2023. It's pivoting to supporting its roughly 420 member properties with additional technology and procurement help to better meet the strong demand.
HP Hotels saw its management portfolio grow to 27 hotels in 2022 as performance metrics all surpassed pre-pandemic levels, Senior Vice President of Owner Relations and Development Ed Robison said.
STR, CoStar's hospitality analytics firm, currently projects the industry will see revenue growth during an economic recession in 2023, which would be a first. Robison agrees with that projection and isn't worried by its unprecedented nature.
"There are so many things in this industry that happened that have never happened before, and we've always made it through," he said. "We've always come out stronger than when we went in."
Standard International, meanwhile, sees 2023 as a year the company continues to grow its global presence, with Miranda Mancuso, Standard's senior vice president of acquisitions and development for the Americas, saying her company intends to be in every major international gateway city.
She said her company has growth prospects not just in hospitality but in branded residences.
“We’re definitely seeing mixed-use buildings and opportunities coming our way a lot, often with a residential component,” she said.
Similarly, Davidson Hospitality Group is looking beyond traditional hospitality for further growth. Chief Operating Officer Pete Sams said the company's marketing and social media efforts have been such a strength that he can see offering it as a paid service to other hotel management companies.
"I'd say today [marketing is] our unofficial fifth vertical," he said, referencing the company's four existing divisions: Davidson Hotels, Pivot Lifestyle Hotels, Davidson Restaurant Group and Davidson Resorts. "We've grown that team to 16 people and think of it as an in-house marketing agency."
Maverick Hotels & Restaurants CEO and founder Bob Habeeb has a different concept of growth, although he does see his company growing in 2023. He said that's more about doing new and more interesting projects all the time as opposed to just growing the size of Maverick's management portfolio to achieve some arbitrary scale benchmarks.
"My motive when I started Maverick was not necessarily 'Bigger is better.' In fact, we're bigger than I expected to be," Habeeb said. "It's all about quality. Doing a quality job for the assets we manage, and putting together a team that makes it a great day to go to work."
One of the company's ongoing projects is the reinvention of the Hilton Chicago/Oak Brook Hills Resort, which Habeeb said involves reimagining and "future-proofing" a traditional golf resort.
Executives with The Kessler Collection said they see opportunities not only to grow their own portfolio of hotels but to grow new travel destinations across the Southeast U.S.
The company is currently working on a new mixed-use development on a 25-acre plot in Cashiers, North Carolina — a mountain down in rural Jackson County. Mark Kessler, president and chief operating officer, said the company intends to create a leisure travel destination out of whole cloth, including shopping, art spaces, residences, an event pavilion and glamping.
"It will be our highest [average daily rate and revenue per available room] market, by far," he said.
California-based lodge and boutique hotel operator Soul Community Planet sees 2023 as a year of significant growth, as well, and executives aren't afraid to open their checkbook to make that happen, said co-founder and CEO Ken Cruse.
“We would have liked to have done five or six more hotel acquisitions over the course of the year,” he said. “I think this year we’re moving into a window of opportunity for deals that makes sense for us, that we can fit into our portfolio nicely and advance the brand story.”
He said the company's acquisition targets are storied hotels in markets that have their own appeal and garner average daily rates of more than $300.
Similarly, Electra America Hospitality Group hasn't been shy about spending for growth, having already deployed half of its $750 million fund to grow its high-end, extended-stay brand AKA. While extended-stay has been an industry darling since the onset of the pandemic, Electra CEO and Principal Russ Urban said there's very little competition in the "four-star" space they're looking to grow AKA.
“We don’t have much competition in our little niche, and a lot of our competition would prefer to have a big brand already attached to it,” he said. “That’s just not us.”
Atlanta-based Valor Hospitality Partners is looking across the globe for growth opportunities, with signs that their most fruitful path might be expansion in the Middle East. The company signed on to operate a portfolio in Dubai owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai, and its portfolio includes hotels in the U.S., U.K., Europe and South Africa, with plans to soon expand across different parts of the African continent.
Euan McGlashan, global partner and CEO, said he hopes to soon reach at least 25 hotels in the Middle East.
"I'd like to be more, but again we are assessing where all the opportunities lie," he said.