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1. Hotel Stocks Dip in August Following Robust July Recovery
Hotel stock values fell in August, undoing some of the growth after rallying in July. Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and director at Baird, said the dip likely “reflects some investor skepticism over the recovery of business travel post-Labor Day as leisure demand for hotels cools.”
In its latest data, the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index — comprising 20 of the largest hotel brand companies and real estate investment trusts publicly traded on a U.S. stock exchange by market capitalization — was down 2.7% overall in August after a 14.3% increase in July. Year to date, the index is down 12.6% but outperformed broader economic indexes in the S&P 500 and RMZ — which were down 4.2% and 6.1%, respectively — as it has in every month this year except June.
2. London Hotels High In Demand For Queen’s Funeral
Demand for hotel rooms in London is expected to soar as people flock to the British capital to pay their respects to Her Majesty The Queen, Elizabeth II, who died on Sept. 8. Her state funeral is on Sept. 19, a date that has been declared a national day of mourning, with most offices closed for the day.
According to MarketWatch, Thomas Emanuel, director at STR, said the eyes of the world are going to be on London for the next 10 days. “There will be an influx of media, an influx of dignitaries and an influx of people that just want to be there,” he said.
The last state funeral in the United Kingdom was in January 1965, when former prime minister Winston Churchill was laid to rest. It was estimated then that more than 1 million mourners lined the funeral procession route, and the numbers for the Queen’s funeral are expected to be far higher, so much so that the government has issued guidance for those wishing to pay their respects.
3. Non-Hotel Developers Realizing Benefits of Including Hotels, Hospitality
Though more complex than a stand-alone new-build, hotel developers are finding that being part of a mixed-use project helps their hotel’s feasibility when new construction overall is a challenge for the industry, writes Hotel News Now's Bryan Wroten.
On the flip side, developers interested in alternative real-estate classes are also increasingly seeing the benefit of having a hotel in their projects, according to Tim Marvin, executive vice president of real estate at business advisory JLL who said “the mixed-use projects reaching his desk are coming from developers who want to build asset classes that are hot, such as residential apartment or condo units, and understand they need to create a lifestyle experience in the development.”
4. Aman Puts $600 Million Tag on New York City Hotel Sale
Aman Hotels & Resorts has put up its New York City hotel for sale in a sale-and-leaseback deal with a price tag of $600 million, according to GlobeSt.com. The hotel opened on Aug. 2 in the Crown Building on the corner of 5th Avenue and 57th Street,
5. American Airlines to Ax 14,000 Flights in December
American Airlines said that in order to ease pressure on airports, air space and staff, it will cut approximately 14,000 flights in December, according to ABC News. The news outlet reports the carrier, as well as others, continues to be hit by labor shortages, especially with pilots. The decision has resulted in an 8% cut to its service and applies to only the first two weeks of the month, with the likelihood of more cuts to come.
A similar, large-scale deletion of flights is to occur this winter in the timetable of United Kingdom national carrier British Airways, which said between October and March it plans to cut approximately 10,000 flights, mostly on short-haul services, according to newspaper The Guardian.