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Beverage contributes to strong boutique NOI
The Highland Group is sharing data about net operating income and performance across the boutique, lifestyle and soft-branded hotel segments it tracked in its recent report defining the segments.
According to the report, NOI performance for most sizes of boutique, lifestyle and soft-branded hotels outpaces the baseline of full-service hotels in the United States. The data shows that most sizes of boutique, lifestyle and soft-branded hotels get anywhere from 8% to 15% of contribution from beverage sales in particular.
Panel: Airbnb poses less risk to boutiques
Big names in boutique, such as Commune Hotels + Resorts’ Niki Leondakis and Richard Millard of Trust Hospitality, took the stand that sharing-economy company Airbnb poses more of a direct threat to major hotel chains than it does to independent boutique hotels.
“It’s all about experiences and being original. … That threatens the big-box chains more than anybody. The success of Airbnb points to our segment and says there’s this massive shift and migration away from formulaic experiences toward authenticity,” Leondakis said at the Boutique Hotel Investment Conference.
Still, speakers at the event conceded that boutique and independent hotels are not immune to the threats of Airbnb, even though they might be more nimble in dealing with them.
“We’d better be eyes wide open, all of us, about Airbnb,” Leondakis said. “It’s reminiscent of 2001, 2002, 2003 when we were all watching the (online travel agencies) and saying, ‘Holy crap. These guys are going to chew up our business.’ They are going to take up a chunk. They are going to be a part of our lives.”
Gaymer-Jones sets goals for Panorama
HNN’s Jeff Higley sat down with Robert Gaymer-Jones, former leader of Sofitel Hotels and now president and CEO of newly formed Panorama Hospitality Management, to talk about the challenges and rewards of managing independent hotels.
The entity began in January and is working with an investment partner to develop a new-construction hotel near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. However, most of its portfolio will come from acquisitions and repositionings, Gaymer-Jones said.
The company will focus on what he called independent 5-star properties. Its portfolio will eventually include hotels around the world, but one of its early targets for growth is the Caribbean region.
“We’re looking at three or four projects in the Caribbean, and I’d like to think we’d have two or three more signed by the end of the year,” Gaymer-Jones said. “The Caribbean is cleaning up its act a little bit—there are a number of opportunities.”
National Geographic’s new affiliation grows
In January National Geographic launched its Unique Lodges of the World marketing and distribution affiliation. It’s recently added 14 properties to its roster, bringing the total portfolio up to 38 properties on six continents.
The new members include two hotels in Mexico, four in Africa, three in Peru and two in the U.S., both located in Alaska.
Deals and developments
- DiamondRock Hospitality acquired the fee simple interest in the 184-key Sheraton Suites Key West in Key West, Florida, for $94 million with plans to re-launch the hotel as an independent lifestyle resort. The hotel will continue to be managed by Ocean Properties.
- Stash Hotel Rewards added seven New England hotels to its affiliation. The new members are The Daniel, The Dunes on the Waterfront, Kedron Valley Inn, Mill Street Inn, Rockport Inn & Suites, Stonehedge Inn & Spa, and Newagen Sea Side Inn–all located from Massachusetts to Maine.
- Five new members joined The Leading Hotels of the World. They are: The Gainsborough Bath Spa in Bath, England; Hotel Royal-Evian Resort in Evian-les-Bains, France; La Badira in Hammamet, Tunisia; AltaGracia Boutique Hacienda in Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica; and The Patina in Singapore.
- Preferred Hotels & Resorts made several executive appointments: Casey Ueberroth has been named chief marketing officer; Ken Mastrandrea has been named COO; Hiren Chandiramani has been named CFO; and Michelle Woodley has been named executive VP.
- The La Banque Hotel in downtown Homewood, Illinois, opened on 15 June. The 18-room hotel is located south of Chicago and is owned in conjunction with Ravisloe Country Club.
- The newest Kimpton hotel, The Buchanan, opened in June in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco.
- The Hotel, in Lucerne, Switzerland, joined Marriott International’s Autograph Collection in June. The 30-room property opened in 2000 as a design hotel and is owned by Urs Karli.
Compiled by Stephanie Ricca.