Hotel Blogs

The American Motel Hotel Brokers Network will be attending 2 "High Profile" Conferences in the coming weeks. The Lodging Conference in Phoenix Sept 25-28 and The Best Western International Convention October 14-17 in Montreal. The AMHB Network is continuing to grow its Network of Member Brokers and have recently added Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Lake Village California Offices. The new offices have brought several attractive listings for sale and they all can be found at www.amhbnetwork.com. The Home Office in Phoenix has continued to grow as well by adding staff and an experienced agent to help service the increasing volume of lodging transactions. The Buyer activity continues to be strong and indications are that the individual lodging properties may see a stabilizing Occupancy rate but have been able to benefit from an increasing ADR which in turn drives the REVPAR higher as well. The lodging owner's are able to command a premium price for their properties and Buyer's are willing to pay. The lending climate has tightened a bit but a "new" player has entered into the Lodging arena namely the Credit Unions. Speaking with an experienced Tucson AZ based lender; we were told of a couple of recent deals that were serviced by a Credit Union with extremely competitve rates and terms. One of the many benefits of working with an AMHB Network Member Broker is the ability to work with an experienced specialized Broker/Agent who has immediate direct access to the trends in the lodging industry as well as the lending industry. A lodging owner/Seller can benefit greatly from an experienced AMHB Network Member who has access to this type of information and can educate the Buyer on the latest industry news. Let us know what your experience has been with lodging brokers.

With the discussion raging about Web 2.0 applications in the hospitality, travel & tourism industry (with hotels slowing catching on), the subject of much enthusiasm in the Travel 2.0 game now seems to be Video! Moving beyond the original Travel 2.0 phenomenon (e.g.TripAdvisor, which now features over 6 million user reviews on hotels, destinations and [...]

To cater to India’s fast growing hotel and travel industry, Dynamic Vertical Solutions (DVS) launched Cenium - a cohesive secure system with single database and a standardized user interface. Cenium is a system built directly on the Microsoft DynamicsT...

TravelCLICK has just sent out the above email / HTML campaign to subscribers announcing their new SearchVIEW product. SearchVIEW, which was announced in June 2007, is a product aimed at the hospitality industry (or specifically hoteliers without th...

By - Reda Hossain, SSTH Media Co-ordinator, KSA "Hospitality is innate among the Arabs as it is among the Swiss however the Swiss have taken it to a higher level by opening this hospitality to all, perfecting their art and bestowing it on everyo...

The Sheraton Doha Resort & Convention Hotel is the first Sheraton hotel in the Middle East to launch the Link@Sheraton, a new brand standard intended to create a lively experience for guests while working online. The opening ceremony and ribbon ...

For the First Time in its 36 year History,  AMHB will be attending this year’s Lodging Conference September 25-28 at The Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix Arizona. The Lodging Conference is the Hotel Industry’s Premiere Deal Making Event with 150 Speakers and 40 Sessions on Hotel Finance, Development and Management.

Atttendance is limited to ensure quality Networking and the Conference has “sold out” the last 7 years. The deal making begins Wednesday September 26 in the “Deal Corral”; where AMHB has secured Booth #23 for added exposure and “room to deal”. The AMHB Booth will allow those attending the opportunity to meet one on one with representatives from a variety of industry related companies including acquisitions, franchise,     finance, lending, design, legal and technology. This should prove to be an extremely productive session.

There will be 3 General Sessions featuring prominent CEO’s sharing their insights on the current and future state of the hotel industry. Every Session of The Lodging Conference is interactive with ample time for attendees to ask questions and get answers which maximizes the ability to seek specific information regarding a hotel portfolio or pending project. Conference participants have continually rated The Lodging Conference the best event in the hotel industry. Last year, over 70% of the Conference attendees had previously attended. That’s a remarkable number in an industry where people are constantly changing. This year’s theme is “Hitting the High Notes”. Join AMHB in the High Note Lounge at Booth #23 and we look forward to seeing you there

The SBA 504 rate is now up to 6.7% fixed for 20 yrs.

On prime rate, variable loans, we are now offering no prepay as an option for straight conventional and 504 1st TD loans.

Keep us in mind for full doc, 30-yr owner-user loans up to 90% LTV (no SBA).

We also do Stated income, 30-yr owner-user loans up to 90% LTV

We are doing a few hotel purchase loans using 80% SBA 504 financing for first time buyers purchasing property out of state.  They are using hired G.M.'s to manage the property.  SBA requires the additional 5% injection for first time buyers.  Great Information for Buyer's looking for financing. Let us know if you have any lenders with similar parameters...

In the Spring of 2007, the innovative hotel concept Qbic was launched in Amsterdam WTC on the South Axis. Qbic focuses on a new generation of travellers, who wish to temporarily escape the pace and noise of the city in today's increasingly mobile life, in which the dividing line between work and private life is fading. Qbic is new, and offers atmosphere, space, light and instant convenience in an absolutely unique way. It is a novel proposition for modern, budget-conscious guests, who subscribe to the motto ‘the best service is self-service’ and will find an avant-garde hotel that combines functionality and experience in a very special way.

The key element of the Qbic design concept consists of the cube-shaped living spaces, appropriately called Cubi (photo). Each Cubi measures 7 m2 and features an astonishingly practical configuration, individually designed and built with attractive materials; ‘living room’, extra long Hästens bed, Philip Starck design bathroom elements, TV, radio, safe and wireless Internet, and an ingenious work-and-dine set provide a state-of-the-art living environment .

Pressing the light button, Cubi guests create the atmosphere that best suits their mood of the moment. The integrated instant LED lighting offers a wide choice of attractive colour combinations. The stylish upholstery also allows for personal preferences; practical panels enable guests to instantly create their favourite background. The trendy, pleasant lobby has a different atmosphere in each Qbic hotel and offers talented designers, such as Feran Thomassen for Amsterdam, or Ontwerpers.nu for Antwerp, to express their creativity. Each lobby has a digital kiosk with an ‘i- touch’ screen that enables guests to find useful information on gourmet restaurants in town or the films shown in local cinema's. The back-office facility available in each hotel, allows guests to contact one of the executives present in the hotel.

In the self-service Grab-and-Go Corner, guests can obtain ecological food and beverages, but also items such as toothbrushes, chargers, phone cards, magazines or condoms. Qbic guests are non-smokers. And you only pay for what you use, a philosophy that appeals to the budget-conscious traveller. Qbic uses the ‘Early Bird’ principle for reservations, so room rates may vary from € 39 to € 139 per night. This means that guests who book early, pay an extremely low rate. The easiest way to book a Qbic is through the Internet. Checking in and paying is done electronically on site. Safe parking is available in the underground car park. Is this a "Hit"???

 

The US lodging industry has experienced an unprecedented level of merger and acquisition activity during the first half of 2007. Healthy industry operating metrics, along with an abundant amount of institutional and private debt and equity capital, has resulted in significant numbers of corporate entity and property level deals. Several recent M&A deals have been record setting, including the recently announced $26 billion acquisition of Hilton Hotels Corp. by the Blackstone Group. On the heels of the recently pubicized delinquencies in the subprime residential mortgage market, the US commercial real estate credit markets are currently experiencing a dramatic tightening. Commercial real estate loan to value ratios have declined from recent peaks, and interest rates have ticked upward as CMBS issuers have had a relatively difficult time selling bonds to hedge funds (the most significant acquirers of AAA rated CMBS) who were already negatively impacted by the subprime “meltdown”. Many believe that the current volatility in the credit markets should settle down shortly with the resultant velocity of commercial real estate transactions, including hotels, slowing to a more normal level relative to the recent frenzied pace. At this point in the cycle, the premise of US hotel investors is anticipated to be more heavily dependent upon the sector’s operating fundamentals and less so on hyperactive capital markets.

Interesting observations relative to the Mid Year 2007 Major US Hotel Sales survey include:

• The majority of single asset hotel trades of $10 million or more occurred along both US coasts;
• Major urban 24/7 markets such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC continue to be of interest to hotel investors due in part to high land and construction costs which create high barriers to entry for new hotel product;
• 14 (more than 25%) of the major single asset US hotel sale transactions of $10 million or more traded in excess of $100 million each;
• three “supertanker” (greater than 1,000 rooms) U.S. convention-oriented hotel trades occurred, namely the: Anaheim Hilton, Anaheim, CA (1,572 rooms), the Hilton Atlanta & Towers, Atlanta (1,226 rooms), and the Hilton Washington, Washington, DC (1,119 rooms);
• The most active acquirers of major US single hotel assets include sophisticated, hotel savvy investment groups who know and understand the unique aspects of the sector (aka “smart money”).

The trends are impressive; Are you seeing this in your marketplace?

Extended-stay hotels reported a 4.3% increase in demand in the second quarter of 2007 as supply increases 3.7% over the last year. Second quarter occupancy rises and mid-price hotels post a record. RevPar is up 5.1% in the second quarter 2007 compared to the same period in 2006.

The lengthening construction cycle slowed actual supply growth to below 4% when more than 7% was expected. Although rooms under construction increases 51% to more than 34,000, room supply is expected to increase 4% to 5% per year through 2011. What are your impressions of Extended Stay Properties? Is this the wave of the future or a trend?

The Talent Jungle presents our featured hotelier, our "chosen one". This feature highlights the talented and devoted professionals in the hotel & hospitality industry and brings out their experiences, strengths, background and more...in an effort t...

New Tools and Features like "MY SPG" and "HOTEL EXPLORER" Give Members Personalized Access and Customized On-Line Experience Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has announced the re-design of SPG.com, the dedicated website for members of S...

Hotels in the U.S. made a strong showing last week, with revenue per available room rising 7.5% in the week ending Aug. 5, according to Smith Travel Research. The average daily room rate increased 6.3% to $104.07, and occupancy nationwide increased to 73.8%. Looks like the industry may be close to the top...Might be a good time to sell???

The Pigeon Forge Lodging Association in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee has asked the city to prohibit outdoor hotel rate signs in an effort to prevent bait-and-switch tactics, which harm the area's business reputation. 

The Lodging Association says often the rate posted isn't available, and sometimes it doesn't even exist. They claim that's bad for everyone's business, and it's frustrating some tourists who come to Pigeon Forge.

Is the Pigeon Forge Lodging Association justified?