MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis-based Magid HTL Forecast Tracker has released its predictions for the upcoming 12 months for the hotel industry. The forecast suggests the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a 29 percent decline in annual hotel occupancy. The results will be a projected approximately $75 billion revenue loss for the industry. The estimate is according to the Magid HTL Forecast Tracker and Horwath HTL, a global hotel, tourism and leisure consulting brand. The forecasted decline is driven by the disappearance of business and leisure travel coupled with a projected 22 percent decline in consumer sentiment for attending meetings or conferences over the next 12 months. “The forecast shows the continuing significant impact COVID is having on hotel occupancy,” says Rich Garlick, vice president and strategy consultant for Magid. “Currently, the forecast suggests a 39 percent decline in occupancy for the next month. If the average occupancy at this time of the year (summer) is 70 percent, this would put current occupancy around 43 percent.” The most recent wave of research, conducted July 29 to August 2, shows that 71 percent of consumers expect to next stay in a hotel 24 months from now — a result that …
By Alex Patton During the business lull caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, fast casual sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s made news by rolling out a $150 million nationwide retrofit project for its stores. The project will include aesthetic and comfortability upgrades for 1,700 franchise stores, as well as expanded functionality for delivery and pick-up services — all paid for by the company. “Paying for the retrofits ourselves is a tactical move on our part,” says Peter Cancro, CEO of Jersey Mike’s. “Whenever you put money in your business, it always comes back. It’s an investment into our people — every dollar we put into the project we’ll get back in loyalty and trust from our franchise owners and our customers.” The Manasquan, New Jersey-based company operates approximately 1,750 stores across 48 states and plans to expand to 2,000 by the end of 2021. Though the company is growing its store count quickly, it is still a relatively small player in the national sandwich game. By comparison, Jersey Mike’s two closest competitors, Subway and Jimmy John’s, operate 24,000 and 2,800 stores in the United States, respectively. Amid state-mandated temporary closures of retail stores and restaurants, Jersey Mike’s was able to continue …
NEW YORK CITY — Rent the Runway, a New York City-based online service that provides rentals of designer clothes and accessories, will close its stores around the country in order to focus on building its digital platform, according to reports from CNBC and The Wall Street Journal. The New York City-based company will close its stores in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., while its flagship store in New York City will be converted into a permanent drop-off site for product distribution. CNBC reports that the company intends to grow its network of drop-off locations, and has partnered with apparel retailers Nordstrom and West Elm as part of that initiative.
PORTLAND, ORE. — Link Senior Development and Insight Senior Living have launched the Ativo Senior Living brand, with three upcoming communities currently announced in the Southwest. The first property, Ativo Senior Living of Yuma, Arizona, is currently under construction with a planned opening in early 2021. The Portland-based company also has communities planned in Prescott Valley, Arizona; Buckeye, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and other projects in various design phases throughout the Southwest. “This relationship between Insight Senior Living and Link Senior Development was forged based on our mutual enthusiasm for the health, well-being, and happiness of our vibrant senior population,” says Ron Ziebart, president and CEO Link Senior Development. Insight Senior Living specializes in new-development senior living communities, providing consulting during development and pre-opening and management services after opening. Link Senior Development focuses exclusively on the development and management of seniors housing.
LOS ANGELES — Fresh. Authentic. Tasty. (FAT) Brands has agreed to purchase the Johnny Rockets restaurant chain from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners for $25 million. The deal will be funded through cash on hand and proceeds generated from FAT’s securitization facility. The transaction is slated to close in September. With the acquisition of Johnny Rockets, FAT Brands will have more than 700 franchised and company-owned restaurants around the globe with annual system-wide sales exceeding $700 million. Johnny Rockets was founded in 1986 with its first location on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. The 1950s-themed restaurant serves freshly made, classic burgers and hand-spun real ice cream shakes. Johnny Rockets currently has more than 325 locations across the United States and internationally, including nine company-owned locations. Duff & Phelps served as financial advisor to Sun Capital Partners and Morgan Lewis & Bockius acted as legal counsel to Sun Capital Partner. Loeb & Loeb acted as legal counsel to FAT Brands and Andersen Tax served as tax advisor to FAT Brands.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC has launched Greystar Credit Partners II LP (GCP II), a $600 million fund focused on the acquisition of securitized subordinated debt issued by government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) as well as private label securitizations, junior notes or mezzanine debt collateralized by multifamily assets. GCP II is the successor to GCP I, a $500 million fund created in 2018 that completed its investment activities concurrent with the formation of GCP II. Brett Lashley and Patrick Reilly of Greystar will oversee GCP II’s investment and portfolio management activities.
BETHESDA, MD. — Marriott International (Nasdaq: MAR) has reported that its second-quarter revenue per available room (RevPAR) declined 84.4 percent worldwide at its hotels due to the coronavirus pandemic. RevPAR in its North American portfolio dropped 83.6 percent. Additionally, the hotelier’s occupancy rates are slowly recovering, having reached 34 percent during the week ending Aug. 1 after bottoming out at 11 percent April 11. Currently, 91 percent of the company’s hotels are open, compared to 74 percent in April. Marriott reported a net loss of $210 million in the second quarter, a significant drop from second-quarter 2019 when the company gained $525 million. The Bethesda-based company is seeing bright spots when it comes to its international recovery, especially in the area it refers to as “Greater China” (the area encompassing China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). “Greater China continues to lead the recovery,” says Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott. “As of early May, all our hotels in the region are open, and occupancy levels are now reaching 60 percent, compared to 70 percent the same time last year. While Greater China’s recovery was originally led by demand from leisure travelers, particularly in resorts and drive-to destinations, we are now seeing …
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — During its second-quarter earnings call, Regency Centers Corp. (Nasdaq: REG) reported same-property net operating income of $162.3 million for the three months ending June 30, a 20.1 percent year-over-year decrease. The Jacksonville-based company says all 415 of its shopping centers nationwide have remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 95 percent of its tenants being open as of July 31. Regency Centers collected 72 percent of base rents for the quarter and has agreed to more than 600 lease rent deferrals. The shopping center REIT estimates that 96 percent of deferred rents will be collected by the end of 2021.
CALABASAS, CALIF. — Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI) reported total revenues of $117.4 million in the second quarter, compared with $209.6 million during the same period a year ago, a 44 percent decrease, according to the company’s latest quarterly results released Thursday. The precipitous drop in revenue resulted in net income of $106,000 for the second quarter that ended June 30, compared with $21.3 million for the same period in 2019. The decline in total revenues was driven by the decrease in real estate brokerage commissions, financing fees and other revenues due primarily to the COVID-19 pandemic, the earnings release stated. “The health crisis and economic shutdown resulted in major market disruption during the second quarter with an estimated decline of roughly 60 percent in market transactions,” explained Hessam Nadji, president and CEO of the Calabasas-based firm. “Our team worked extremely hard to take care of our clients’ needs in a difficult environment, which resulted in 1,075 closed brokerage transactions.” Nadji added that the company’s long-term focus is on the continued hiring of experienced agents, investments in technology and strategic acquisitions. “We are positioning MMI to lead an eventual recovery in real estate transactions facilitated by record-low interest rates and …
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) reported total revenue of $634 billion in the second quarter, a year-over-year increase of 35.2 percent. The company’s net income also rose by 48 percent to roughly $5 billion during the period, suggesting that revenues are rising while costs are remaining relatively flat. The Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based pharmacy and convenience store chain, which acquired insurance giant AETNA in late 2018, saw its stock price open at $65.53 per share on Wednesday, Aug. 5, giving it a year-to-date increase of nearly 20 percent. CVS announced plans to close 22 underperforming stores during the first quarter, but has kept all its U.S. locations open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as an essential retailer. As of 2019, CVS operated just shy of 10,000 stores across the United States.