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1. Pebblebrook Acquires Famed Inn on Fifth in Naples for $156 Million
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has agreed to acquire the 119-room Inn on Fifth in Naples, Florida, for $156 million, with management company Noble House Hotels & Resorts remaining in charge of day-to-day operations, according to a press release.
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter 2022. Pebblebrook added that “based on estimated February 2022 trailing-12-month performance, the hotel generated total revenue per available room of $431, hotel earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $11.3 million and hotel net-operating income after a 4% capital reserve of $10.5 million.
2. Earth Day Puts Focus on Sustainability Projects
Today's international Earth Day holiday underlines the innovative work hoteliers are doing globally to implement sustainability efforts at their hotels and in their communities. This Hotel News Now roundup of stories highlights projects ranging from the introduction of electric vehicle charging stations and rooftop gardens at hotels, to efforts companies are making to reinvent how they measure, pay and allocate travel and its resulting carbon footprint.
In related Earth Day news, the United States' first net-zero hotel is slated to open next month in New Haven, Connecticut. The 165-room Hotel Marcel New Haven, part of Hilton's Tapestry Collection, was redesigned by architects Becker + Becker to be fueled entirely by solar energy and operate independent of fossil fuels. The historic building first opened in 1967 for the Armstrong Rubber Co.
3. Airlines Bullish on Business Travel
United Airlines expects to return to profitability in the second quarter of this year, and the company's first quarter financial results show it is nearing 2019 operating margins.
"The demand environment is the strongest it's been in my 30 years in the industry," CEO Scott Kirby said in United's earnings news release. "We're now seeing clear evidence that the second quarter will be an historic inflection point for our business."
Delta Air Lines notched a return to profitability in March, according to its March 2022 financial results, citing "as strong rebound in demand as omicron faded," according to CEO Ed Bastian, as well as improved business travel demand and a stronger fare environment.
American Airlines, which reported first quarter financial results yesterday, saw domestic leisure and short-haul international revenue exceeding 2019 levels, and noted strong expectations for business and international travel growth in the near future.
4. Sustainability To Be Principal Hotel-Demand Driver, WTTC Says
Tourism ministers and global travel leaders in Manila, The Philippines, attending the World Travel & Tourism Council’s 21st Global Summit, underlined that the world is coming to terms with COVID-19 and two years of damaged revenues and tourism patterns and that with every market reopening at pretty much the same time, guests and travelers will vote with their cash on destinations that are sustainable and safe. One of the outcomes of the three-day conference was the “Hotel Sustainability Basics” initiative, which the summit said is a “globally recognised and coordinated set of criteria that all hotels should implement as a minimum to drive responsible travel and tourism.”
Speaking at the conference, Julia Simpson, the WTTC’s president and CEO, said the “travel and tourism sector was devastated by [COVID-19]. We were hit 18 times harder than the global economy.” Also in attendance at the summit were hotel and travel luminaries such as Gilda Perez-Alvarado, global CEO, hospitality, JLL; Federico González, president, Radisson Hotel Group; and Raki Phillips, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority.
5. US Dollar Reaches Highest Value in Almost Two Years
The U.S. dollar continues to increase in value against 16 other international currencies, reaching its highest level since May 2020, the Wall Street Journal reports. The value is the result of strong U.S. global domestic product growth, geopolitical uncertainty in many parts of the world and the likelihood of interest-rate increases from the Federal Reserve.
The newspaper said another boost is that the U.S. economy is expected to “outpace the recovery elsewhere, with the [Federal Reserve] signaling a rapid course of interest-rate increases to tame inflation.” That, it added, is likely to see further highs in the value of U.S. government bonds as investors brace themselves for those increases.