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1. Hotel Near Ukrainian Border Hosts Refugees
Russian troops' siege of urban areas across Ukraine has prompted 1 million people to flee to cities outside of the conflict zone and to leave the country, the New York Times reports.
The fall of the city Kherson leads Ukrainians to believe other cities will soon succumb to the pressure of Russian forces, especially in the south.
Kris 6 News Corpus Christi reports the owners of Hotel Aurora in Romania, a property 30 minutes from the Ukrainian border, have opened the doors of the hotel to refugees despite being financially battered by the pandemic.
The hotel began housing five to seven refugees, mostly women and children, but now it's up to 20 per night free of cost. The hotel owners' daughter and son-in-law, who live in Corpus Christi, Texas, have been raising money to help the hotel continue helping Ukrainian refugees.
2. US Interest Rate Increase Expected in Two Weeks
The U.S. central bank is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate in two weeks at its meeting, with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell noting it's appropriate given rising inflation, healthy economic demand and a tight labor market, the Wall Street Journal reports.
It's unclear how Russia's invasion of Ukraine will influence the U.S. economy, but Powell expected the Fed would move forward with its plan a series of rate increases this year.
“For now, I would say that we will proceed carefully along the lines of that plan,” Powell told the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. “We’re going to avoid adding uncertainty to what is already an extraordinarily challenging and uncertain moment.”
3. Hotel Executives Detail Portfolio Growth Strategies
During fourth quarter and full-year 2021 earnings calls, hotel executives at publicly traded hotel brand companies and real estate investment trusts shared insights into off-market deals and transactions to expand portfolios into new regions, HNN's Dana Miller reports.
RLJ Lodging Trust President and CEO Leslie Hale said her company will be a net acquirer in 2022, focusing on off-market deals.
“We focus on off-market transactions; we leverage unique relationships and situations to allow us to get the asset that we might not otherwise," she said. "That’s played out in the value and yield of the deals that we’ve required most recently.”
4. Hoteliers Capitalize off 'Super Commuters'
As employers request staff to return to offices following extended periods of remote work, hotels are now recognizing a new guest segment called the "super commuter," the New York Times reports.
Defined as employees who moved out of big cities to the suburbs but now need to return to their urban offices, these super commuters are hoping to take the sting out of longer commutes by staying in city hotels.
Hotels are "crafting new packages, designed specifically for them, with amenities such as parking, conference rooms and low midweek rates to sweeten the deal," the news outlet reports.
5. Week-Over-Week US Hotel Performance Improves
Hotel performance in the U.S. has improved from the previous week and against 2019 comparables through Feb. 26, according to data from CoStar's hospitality analytics firm, STR.
Measured against the comparable week in 2019, occupancy for the week of Feb. 20 declined 4.7% to 62.2%, while average daily rate grew 13.1% to $143.83, and revenue per available room rose 7.7% to $89.45.
Among the top 25 U.S. markets, Orlando reached the largest occupancy increase over 2019, growing 6.7% to 85.9%.