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1. OTO Names New Chief Executive
Following the recent death of former CEO Corry Oakes, OTO Development announced another one of the company's co-founders — former vice president of real estate Todd Turner — is taking over as the company's new chief executive, HNN's Dana Miller reports.
Turner worked with Oakes at OTO for 18 years before Oakes' sudden passing on Aug. 7, according a news release announcing the appointment. The company, which is part of The Johnson Group, was founded in 2004 by Oakes, Turner, Jim Ovenden, George Dean Johnson Jr. and H. Wayne Huizenga.
“I will forever mourn the loss of my dear friend Corry. I have had the tremendous honor and privilege of working alongside the finest man and greatest leader I know,” Turner said in the release. “OTO’s experienced leadership team embodies a culture that reflects Corry’s incredible qualities, and we are well-positioned to carry forward the legacy he set in motion.”
2. GSA Lodging Rates See Slight Increase
The U.S. General Services Administration increased standard lodging per diem reimbursement rates from $96 to $98 in 2023, according to a news release. More than 300 locations have lodging allowances over that standard rate.
GSA officials noted the reimbursement rate was increased due to rate increases across the hotel industry.
The per diem rate for meals and incidentals remained unchanged at a range of $59 to $79 with a standard rate of $59.
3. Experts Hopeful Low Unemployment Means No Recession
While much of the discussion on the fate of the hotel industry revolves around the possibility of a recession, data experts at CoStar's hospitality analytics firm STR believe those worries might be overblown due to strong employment data.
Speaking during the recent Hotel Data Conference, STR vice president of analytics Isaac Collazo said he simply doesn't see a recession in the cards.
"We've not had a recession when employment is going up, and employment is going up," he said.
4. Rate Growth Continues To Drive US Hotels
The latest weekly performance data from STR shows some week-over-week cooling in demand, likely indicating a typical late summer season slowdown for hotels, but exceptional rate growth continues to push revenues over levels recorded in 2019.
Occupancy remains down compared to 2019 for the week ending Aug. 13 — down 4.6% to 68.5% — but average daily rate was up 15.8% to $152.34 and revenue per available room was up 10.5% to $104.30.
5. Peachtree Restructures as Peachtree Group
Officials with the company once known as Peachtree Hotel Group have restructured as Peachtree Group in an effort to recognize increasing investments across different real estate investment classes, according to a news release.
"The expanded breadth of investment types we are undertaking warranted the formation of Peachtree Group without Hotel in the moniker," said Greg Friedman, Peachtree's CEO and managing principal. "This transformative structure provides a significant opportunity to unlock the full potential of our integrated real estate investment platform that has served us well in the hospitality sector to expand into other real estate sectors and businesses."
The company, which manages more than $6 billion in assets, will be structured into various divisions including: hotel manager Peachtree Hospitality Management, commercial lender Stonehill, residential developer The Revive Land Group, and capital market division Peachtree PC Investors.
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