December into January has the natural tendency to be a quiet season for hotel news, particularly as hoteliers and investors pack it in for the end-of-year holidays and take a few weeks to ramp back up in the New Year.
That's not the case this year, as just the last couple of weeks we've had no shortage of deals that shift the hotel brand landscape, in particular.
Highlights include:
- India-based Oyo closed on a $525 million purchase of U.S. economy hotels stalwart G6 Hospitality, which owns the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands.
- Marriott International purchased Postcard Cabins to carve out a niche in outdoor accommodations, and the entire 29-property portfolio will be managed by Hotel Equities.
- Hyatt Hotels Corp. and The Venetian Las Vegas announced a new loyalty partnership that replaces previous deals with MGM Resorts and IHG Hotels & Resorts, respectively.
- Lark Hotels and Life House announced a joint venture that will merge the two lifestyle hotel companies' portfolios.
So what does this say about the state of the hotel industry? Probably that hotel brands aren't willing to stand pat heading into 2025.
A lot of hoteliers are expecting to enjoy a period of growth in the New Year, although it's not likely to be high-octane growth.
Oyo, for example, has been looking to reach critical mass in the U.S. for a few years ago, and that company obviously had a period pre-pandemic of exponential growth in the country, but now they've multiplied that growth overnight.
Similarly, brand companies like Marriott and Hyatt have something of an obligation to be all things to all people to support the ecosystems for their ever-important loyalty platforms.
Hyatt filled in a massive hole in their portfolio on the Las Vegas Strip left by MGM's decision to partner with Marriott instead. Similarly, Marriott carved out a defined space in an adjacent space in lodging that more hotel brands are dabbling in — like Hilton's partnership with glamping brand AutoCamp.
The Lark-Life House joint venture underscores the new common thinking on the importance of scale for hotel operators, giving them a greater geographic representation and better buying power.
All of these individual deals had individual different motivations for hotel companies, but they all come back to better positioning for what's expected to be a strong 2025.
Let me know what you think on LinkedIn or via email.
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