The overall feel at this year’s Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) last week in San Diego wasn’t too optimistic or too pessimistic. Let’s call it hopeful.
"Hotel investors sitting on the sidelines will move onto the field this year," says Mark Woodworth, president of Hospitality Research. "The bad news has begun to get better. The demand will go up after eight quarters of decline. Occupancy will begin to increase, RevPAR will grow in the third quarter, and rates will gain traction by end of the year."
Who will reap the benefits first? "As the recovery comes it will happen at the top end first and the bottom after," argues Mark Lomanno, president of Smith Travel Research (STR).
Another positive: many said that this may be the year for transactions, which in turn, will hopefully kick-start more development.
Internationally, it comes as no surprise that many said that Asia Pacific will continue to be strong. "There was a nearly 25 percent growth in Asia Pacific; the first time with greater liquidity than the Americas," explains Arthur de Haast, global CEO, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.
But besides the numbers, there were a few design highlights:
—Virgin Group (yes, as in Virgin Airlines) is planning on entering the hotel market soon.
—After openings in Miami and Boston (look for coverage of the Ames in HD‘s March issue), Morgans Hotel Group is taking on New York again with the opening of Mondrian Soho this fall. Expect a fantastical design by Benjamin Noriega Ortiz and a new restaurant from chef Sam Talbot of the Surf Lodge in Montauk, Long Island.
—Super 8 recently unveiled a redesign courtesy of Back Lot out of Atlanta, dubbed the Innov8te room design (upper left). Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, the new rooms feature an abundance of horizontal surfaces; vibrant color palettes (blue green, pink, and orange); headboards embedded with imagery; retro shag rugs; a modular TV wall unit; and a triangular-shaped desk with a 1960s chair. "What’s old is new again," says John Valletta, president of Super 8 Worldwide, adding that they wanted to attract a younger clientele, while not alienating their core customer (which is 52 years old).
—Carlson Hotels is expanding at a great rate, across all brands, staying true to its claim as one of the strongest global players. The hotel company announced that it added 92 properties under its five brands worldwide during the year and system-wide sales of $5.8 billion. Carlson Hotels also signed 66 new properties adding to its contracted pipeline of 249 properties. Of note, Regent is taking on Asia Pacific, with an opening in Bali (right) in 2011 and in Gurgaon, India. (Carlson already has 28 hotels operating in India with 54 in pipeline.) Country Inns and Suites will reach its 500th hotel this year and continues to employ its more residential, less country look. And look out for a refresher of the Radisson brand—a leader in the design world overseas—in the Americas.
—Starwood Hotels & resorts expects to open another 80-100 new-build and conversion hotels in 2010, coming off of the 83 opened and 77 new deals signed in 2009. Of these new hotels, roughly 70 percent will be outside of North America, with the majority in Asia Pacific. And Starwood’s upper upscale and luxury brands are leading the charge, representing more than 60 percent of the new openings. Among these hotels and resorts is expected to be its 1,000th property globally.
