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1. Fed Raises Interest Rates by Half Percent
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates a half percentage point, its largest increase since 2000, to help slow inflation in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reports. The move raises the central bank’s federal-funds rate to a range of 0.75% and 1%.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a news conference that he and other Fed officials agree additional half-point increases may be necessary in June and July. Those increases would put the rate at about 2% by July when officials previously expected to reach that point by December.
2. Sunstone To Acquire Confidante Miami Beach for $232 Million
Hotel real estate investment trust Sunstone Hotel Investors announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the 339-room Confidante Miami Beach from an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corp. for $232 million, according to a news release. Sunstone intends to convert the property to the Andaz Miami Beach.
"Upon completion of the planned renovation, we will have transformed the earnings potential of the hotel and we will own a premier Miami Beach luxury resort at a highly attractive all-in basis in a resilient, supply-constrained market that has continued to demonstrate meaningful rate growth,” Sunstone CEO Bryan Giglia said in the release.
3. Hotel Leaders Focus on Sustainability at IHIF
At the opening day of the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin, hotel industry leaders said sustainability will be key to driving the industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, report HNN’s Terence Baker, Sean McCracken and Stephanie Ricca.
Overall European hotel industry performance, particularly average daily rate, is rebounding to pre-pandemic levels, mostly thanks to the continued strength of leisure demand that’s covering for the business and group travel that is slower to recover.
“Real ADRs [adjusted for inflation] are touching 2019 levels already when you look at some weeks. After most previous downturns, it took five to seven years to recover real ADR," said Robin Rossmann, managing director, STR, in his presentation of global hotel industry performance data. STR is CoStar's hospitality analytics firm.
4. US Passes 1 Million COVID-19 Deaths
The U.S. has passed 1 million COVID-19 deaths 27 months after the first confirmed case in the country, NBC News reports. Though the pace of deaths from COVID-19 and its variants has slowed recently, about 360 people continue to die from it each day.
More than half of the total deaths have occurred since January 2021, and more than 80% of those from April to December 2021 were unvaccinated Americans, the article states. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that as of February, the risk of death from COVID-19 is 20 times higher for unvaccinated individuals compared to those who are vaccinated and boosted.
5. US Hotel Rates Down Slightly Week Over Week, But 10% Over 2019
U.S. hotels reported occupancy improved in the week ending April 30 compared to the week prior, but average daily rate dipped, according to data from STR.
Measured against the comparable week in 2019, occupancy declined by 3.4% to 66.6%, but ADR jumped 10.2% to $146.67, resulting in revenue per available room increasing by 6.4% to $97.72.
Among the top 25 markets, Phoenix reported the highest occupancy increase over 2019 with growth of 5.5% to 75.9%. Minneapolis reported the steepest decline in occupancy, dropping 23.8% to 55.1%.