Editor's Note: Some linked articles may be behind subscription paywalls.
1. Manhattan Hotel Supply Loss Could Surpass 11,000 Rooms
A study from LW Hospitality Advisors and JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group estimates 11,100 hotel rooms could be lost in Manhattan due to "closure, resizing or conversion to alternative uses," Forbes reports.
New supply in the market is expected to fall short of that total, with 9,600 rooms in the pipeline, resulting in a roughly 1.4% supply drop from pre-pandemic levels. It's unclear as of yet how closures will be impacted due to New York City Council legislation that "requires dormant hotels to pay out severance to former employees unless they have recalled at least 25% of their workers by Oct. 11 and are open to the public by Nov. 1."
2. Highgate Buys Dorsett London, Picks Up Management of Grosvenor House
Hotel investment and management company Highgate has announced the addition of two new London properties to its portfolio with the acquisition of the 267-room Dorsett City London Hotel through a joint venture with Cerberus and a deal to manage the 130-key Grosvenor House Suites, according to a news release. No price was announced for the Dorsett property.
"Highgate plans to continue pursuing single asset, portfolio and platform wide opportunities throughout Europe by adhering to the key principles that have contributed to the company's historical success — fostering relationships with key industry constituents; innovating around operational, distribution, and hotel positioning capabilities; targeting opportunities where Highgate has a distinct ability to add value; and acting as a highly-reliable and collaborative counterparty on transactions," Mehdi Khimji, managing principal at Highgate, said in the release.
3. Online Travel Agencies Gain Influence As Leisure Demand Grows
A boom in leisure demand led to something unlikely for hotel distribution in normal times: direct bookings and online travel agencies simultaneously growing share in channel mix. HNN's Bryan Wroten reports hotel revenue and distribution experts are concerned about the growing influence of OTAs on bookings, and they worry the strong direct booking numbers might be a bit misleading.
“At face value, that may look like the brand is driving a greater percentage of my mix of sale,” Dario Binnie, the regional director of revenue management for Marshall Hotels & Resorts, said. “They’re actually not generating as many room nights, and the OTAs if anything have probably gained more ground in a lot of my markets than what they used to have comparatively before the pandemic.”
4. US Weekly Hotel Performance Drops Moderately
The latest data from STR, CoStar's hospitality analytics firm, shows a marginal week-to-week drop for U.S. hotels, but rate continues to hold strong compared to pre-pandemic levels.
For the week ending Oct. 2, occupancy was down 9.2% compared to the equivalent week in 2019, hitting 61.7%. Average daily rate was up 1.2%, though, climbing to $130.87, and somewhat muting the drop in revenue per available room, which was down 8.2% to $80.78.
5. Pfizer Seeks Vaccine Approval for 5 to 11 Year Olds
Pfizer and BioNTech have officially requested approval for emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children between 5 and 11 years old, and Food and Drug Administration officials are expected to meet on Oct. 26 to consider that proposal, the New York Times reports.
Some hurdles remain before children can get the vaccine, the newspaper notes.
"Clearance depends not only on the strength of the clinical trial data, but on whether they can prove to regulators that they are able to properly manufacture a new pediatric formulation," the Times reports, noting acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock says a vaccine could require a different formulation or dosage than for other groups.