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1. Hyatt to buy Playa for $2.6 billion
Hyatt Hotels Corp. will buy the outstanding shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts for a total of approximately $2.6 billion, HNN's Sean McCracken reports. The deal will include about $900 million of debt net of cash.
Playa is an owner and operator of all-inclusive resorts across Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. As Hyatt operates under an asset-light model, the company will find third-party buyers for Playa's owned properties. It anticipates at least $2 billion in proceeds from real estate sales by the end of 2027.
Hyatt had previously bought all-inclusive resort company Apple Leisure Group in 2021. It also formed a 50/50 joint venture with Grupo Piñero last year, adding the Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts portfolio to Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection.
2. Trump to impose tariffs on steel, aluminum
President Trump said he plans to impose a 25% tariff on all foreign steel and aluminum imports, including from Mexico and Canada, the New York Times reports. He also plans to enact reciprocal tariffs as well.
So far, the president has imposed an additional tariff of 10% on all goods from China. Plans to place a tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada were delayed until March.
In 2024, the biggest suppliers of steel to the United States were Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Vietnam. Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and China are major sources of aluminum.
3. Hotel execs hope for stronger deals environment in 2025
During a session on real estate at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit, hotel executives spoke about how they believe this year should be more inducive to making deals compared to a disappointing 2024, HNN's Sean McCracken reports.
"That could be true distress where they're not covering debt service and they're facing loan maturities," said Benjamin Rowe, managing partner of KHP Capital Partners. "That could be a function of a pending [property improvement plan] or other renovation needs or maybe a need for liquidity for other assets. All of that's becoming a somewhat bigger factor or catalyst for dispositions."
4. Passenger rail service to expand in Europe
New routes, more competition and a streamlined booking process are coming to passenger rail services across Europe, the New York Times reports. Demand for train services is growing in the continent, with cross-border passenger rail service increasing 7% year over year in 2024.
“In a single ticket, you will be able to buy a journey that links different train operators, and you will be sure to have your passenger rights protected if something goes wrong during the journey,” said Victor Thévenet, the rail policy manager at Transport and Environment, adding that the system would cover all long-distance and regional trains across Europe.
5. Consumer inflation grows in China
China's National Bureau of Statistics reports the country's consumer-price index grew by 0.5% year over year in January, according to the Wall Street Journal. Food prices increased by 0.4% during the month, turning around from a 0.5% dip in December, while nonfood prices grew by 0.5%.
The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices because of their volatility, grew 0.6% year over year.
"China’s core CPI, which has been watched by economists as a gauge for domestic demand, steadily climbed for the fourth consecutive month in January, signaling a tentative recovery of demand after Beijing’s stimulus measures," according to the newspaper.