WACO, TEXAS — Developer Heritage Hospitality Group is underway on construction of a 104-room Residence Inn by Marriott hotel in Waco. The four-story property, which is expected to open in mid-July, will feature a sport court, outdoor pool, fitness center and meeting rooms. Atlanta-based Hospitality Ventures Management Group will manage the hotel.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has released what it called a “Roadmap to Recovery” for the hotel sector in the United States. In the document, AHLA notes that the April jobs report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says the hotel industry was hit the hardest of any sector tracked, losing 7.7 million jobs. The AHLA wrote a letter on behalf of its members to the U.S. Congress urging it to prioritize hotel workers and small businesses during the next stimulus package and to provide immediate assistance in four areas: help hotels retain and rehire employees by extending the Paycheck Protection Program, (PPP) offering employees direct tuition assistance or tax credits and expanding the Employee Retention Credit; protect employees and guests through tax credits for cleaning equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE); keep hotel doors open by providing relief for hotel commercial mortgages and increasing the size and flexibility of PPP loans; and incentivize Americans to travel again when it’s safe with a new, temporary travel tax credit and restoring the entertainment business expense deduction. “The hospitality industry is in a fight for survival,” says Chip Rogers, president and CEO of Washington, D.C.-based …
FRISCO, TEXAS — Locally based developer Sam Moon Group will open the Hyatt Regency Frisco, a 303-room luxury hotel located at the intersection of Preston Road and the Sam Rayburn Tollway in Frisco on June 1. Construction began in May 2018. The 18-story hotel is connected to Stonebriar Mall, a 1.7 million-square-foot shopping and dining destination. Brookfield Properties owns the mall, with Nordstrom and Dillard’s as anchor tenants. A number of entertainment concepts such as Kidzania, Dave & Buster’s and iFly Dallas indoor skydiving are also located near the hotel. In addition, seven sports teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, Frisco RoughRiders (baseball) and FC Dallas (soccer) are located within a few miles of the property. “Frisco is a modern city brimming with attractions, and the new Hyatt Regency Frisco will reflect this contemporary mindset,” says developer Daniel Moon. “This bustling city was once a dusty cattle drive trail that was later transformed by the railroad through the North Texas plains, and now it’s a tourist destination renowned for shopping, stadiums, conventions and entertainment. Our hotel will celebrate the spirit of this vibrant community.” Amenities at the hotel include a 27,500-square-foot conference center, lobby bar, two restaurants and an outdoor pool. HKS …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has released its “Stay Safe” cleaning standards initiative. AHLA rolled out the guidelines to aid hotel chains that are reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Washington, D.C.-based organization created the standards with help from an advisory council comprising industry leaders and public health experts. The initiative encourages the use of cleaning products that have a concentration of bacteria-killing ingredients, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Participating hotel chains will also train staff on safety and sanitation in regard to COVID-19. “Safe Stay was developed specifically to ensure enhanced safety for hotels guests and employees,” says Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. “While hotels have always employed demanding cleaning standards, this new initiative will ensure greater transparency and confidence throughout the entire hotel experience.” In April, Hilton Hotels and Marriott International unveiled their own protocols for enhancing guest and employee safety.
COLONIAL HEIGHTS, VA. — Extended Stay America Inc. has opened Extended Stay America-Colonial Heights, a 92-room hotel in Colonial Heights. Each room features kitchens with full-size refrigerators, microwave ovens, cooktops, platform beds with storage space beneath, recliners and high-speed Wi-Fi. Amenities include a fitness center, laundry room and a lobby. Kara Hospitality is managing the property. The new building is located at 441 Charles H Dimmock Parkway, 23 miles south of downtown Richmond.
DALLAS — Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE: AHT) announced this weekend that it will return all funds from loans it received from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), citing recently changed rules that would have put the Dallas-based company at compliance risk. Ashford, whose portfolio includes some 120 U.S. hotels totaling nearly 25,000 rooms, has also made a change in leadership, replacing CEO Douglas Kessler with J. Robison Hays III as the company’s new president and top executive effective May 14. According to The Dallas Morning News (DMN), Ashford originally applied for $126 million in PPP loans, seeking relief for each hotel with 500 or fewer employees. Per the DMN, the company originally said that it had laid off or furloughed 90 percent of its workforce and would be using the funds to help get those employees back to work. The PPP was established as part of the CARES Act to provide relief to owner-operators amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
EAST TROY, WIS. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $2.7 million sale of the Quality Inn & Suites in East Troy, about 35 miles southwest of Milwaukee. Built in 1999, the 51-room hotel is located at 2921 O’Leary Lane. The property spans 38,660 square feet. Ebrahim Valliani, John Yurich, Allan Miller and Chris Gomes of Marcus & Millichap’s Chicago Oak Brook office marketed the hotel on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The team also secured and represented the buyer, a private investor. Todd Lindblom assisted on the transaction as the broker of record in Marcus & Millichap’s Wisconsin office.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) sent a letter to the U.S. Congress on Monday requesting more funds for small business hotels across the country. According to a report from AHLA, small business hotels won’t be able to bring back laid off employees or prevent further layoffs with the current funds offered by the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Small Business Association (SBA) initiative established by the CARES Act. The PPP funds cover 47 percent of a hotel’s operating costs, the AHLA says in the letter. The Washington, D.C.-based organization also reports 61 percent of U.S. hotels, approximately 33,000 properties — are defined as small businesses. The letter was signed by more than 13,000 hotel owners. AHLA projects that 2020 hotel occupancy will go as low as 38 percent, the lowest figure since the Great Depression. Furthermore, the report finds that hotel staff nationwide has been cut by 70 percent since mid-March. AHLA states even after recovery begins, the hotel sector will not generate significant revenue to cover costs, given that hotel occupancy is not projected to return to pre-crisis levels before 2021 and revenue won’t return to pre-crisis levels until 2022.
FISHERS, IND. — Thompson Thrift Retail Group (TTRG) has sold the hotel pad site at The Stations, a $60 million mixed-use development in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers. The buyer, Indiana-based Dunn Hospitality, plans to open a $20 million, 145-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel in late 2021. The Courtyard hotel will include meeting space, fitness facilities, an indoor pool and bistro bar. Later this year, TTRG plans to break ground on a Class A, four-story office building within The Stations. The company is also completing initial site work on the back portion of the project for Pulte Homes to begin development of 37 three-story, for-sale townhomes. The Stations is adjacent to Fishers District, a TTRG project with more than 100,000 square feet of retail and dining space, 260 multifamily units and a dual-branded Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotel.
MCLEAN, VA. — As COVID-19 continues to sweep across the United States, Hilton Hotels has teamed up with Lysol and Mayo Clinic to implement its new Hilton CleanStay with Lysol Protection program this summer. The new initiative aims to “provide guests with assurance and peace of mind” when they visit a Hilton property. RB, Lysol’s parent company, will work with the McLean-based hotel chain to launch a cleaning system in an effort to keep guests safe and healthy. Experts from Mayo Clinic’s Infection Prevention and Control team will advise and assist in enhancing Hilton’s cleaning and disinfection protocols. Some features of the program include a Hilton CleanStay Room Seal, a seal on doors notifying guests the room has not been entered since it was thoroughly cleaned; extra disinfectant on what Hilton deems high-touch areas, including light switches, doors handles, TV remotes and thermostats; removing items such as pens, paper and guest directories, which will be available digitally or upon request; and the Clean and Clean Again program, which increases the frequency of cleaning in public areas. Hilton’s portfolio includes 18 brands and 6,100 properties worldwide. Others in the hospitality sector taking extra measures include Marriott International and Airbnb. Marriott created …
