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1. Shiva Hotels refinances The BoTree for more than £300 million
U.K.-based hotel owner and operator Shiva Hotels is refinancing The BoTree in London for more than £300 million ($375 million), the largest single-asset hotel refinancing deal in Europe since the end of the pandemic, HNN's Terence Baker reports. The 199-room luxury hotel in London's Marylebone neighborhood opened in 2023.
London-based BlueWater Capital provided a £170 million senior loan, and NorthWall Capital, also based in London, provided a £140 million secured facility.
The BoTree is set to start its next phase of major renovations, including a rooftop pool and bar lounge and additional private dining and meeting space.
2. Fewer US jobs added in January than expected
U.S. employers added 143,000 jobs in January, fewer than economists' projection of 170,000, the Associated Press reports. The jobless rate went down to 4%, the lowest since May 2024, according to the New York Times.
"The fresh numbers suggest that the labor market may be losing momentum heading into the second administration of President Trump, whose policy agenda — including sharp cuts to federal payrolls and large-scale deportations of unauthorized migrants — could affect both employment and the availability of workers," the New York Times reports.
3. Marriott's Capuano on portfolio growth
Marriott International is continuously undergoing changes, evident by its latest acquisition of Postcard Cabins and partnership with Trailborn in December. In an interview with HNN's Bryan Wroten at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit, Marriott President and CEO Tony Capuano said the brand has fundamentally changed since the launch of its continent structure.
Its portfolio grew from about 4,000 hotels to now more than 9,000 hotels since that launch.
“We are a very different, more global, more widely distributed company than we were a decade ago,” he said.
4. Second winter storm this week heads east
Another winter storm is set to hit the U.S. Midwest and Northeast this weekend after a different storm passed through this week, the New York Times reports. There's expected to be heavy snow from the Dakotas to the Great Lakes, with Minneapolis, Des Moines and Chicago all falling in the storm's path.
There could be more winter storms ahead as well, with forecasters monitoring for another wave next week.
"Following almost a repeat pattern of the two winter storms this week, the next two storms could bring similar threats of more significant winter weather, including heavy snow, sleet and ice from the Ohio Valley to the Mid-Atlantic region, including Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington," the newspaper reports.
5. New Orleans seeks economic boon from Super Bowl
Natural disasters, infrastructure issues and high crime has set New Orleans economy behind other major southern cities such as Houston and Atlanta in recent years, but the city hopes playing host to the Super Bowl will help turn it around, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“We have embraced the party in the front, and neglected the business in the back part of the mullet,” said Susan Bonnett Bourgeois, secretary of Louisiana’s economic development department. “Our laissez-faire attitude got us into the position of having to fight to get it all back.”
Hotel operators in the city are expecting near to full occupancy this weekend, with rates that could rival past records.