Hilton Acquires Another Indy, New Hotel of The Year, U.S. Hotels State of the Union, Blackstone

The Modern Hotelier #66: Hilton Acquires Another Indy, New Hotel of The Year, U.S. Hotels State of the Union, Blackstone, and More === Steve Carran: Welcome to April's edition of Hospitality Hot Topics. We are excited to go over some of the, some of the things that have been happening in hospitality over the past month. This month has had quite a lot of exciting things. First of all, thank you to the International Hospitality Institute for the awards that they have given out over the past month. It's great to see so many podcasts and people. in hospitality recognized. thank you. We were voted number five podcast in [00:01:00] hospitality by the International Hospitality Institute. And David and I were also named the top 100 most influential people in USA hospitality. and Travel, and also Top 100 Social Influencers in Hospitality. So congratulations, David, as well. And thank you, IHI and Dr. Geoffrey O. So now we can dive into the topics here. The first one, similar to, to March, David, we have, Hilton is acquiring the Siddell Group, so their, second acquisition, in a month, so now they are gonna own the Nomad Hotels. Let's hear your thoughts on, on another acquisition, uh, of Hilton. David Millili: Yeah, like you said, it was kind of like last month. Another one bites the dust. fortunately, the independent brands. which, you know, you and I both love are very attractive to the traditional brands and, uh, we continue to see that and you made the point, you know, last month about it may be somebody who's not really driven by money. Uh, [00:02:00] that's going to be a tough find, but who doesn't really want to sell out. But again, we continue to see that trend. And, uh, I guess if you're a Hilton honors member, that's a good thing. But if you're not, then, uh, another independent kind of loses its. It's independence. Steve Carran: A hundred percent. Great for Hilton Honor members. Um, they're planning to build up to a hundred additional Nomad hotels and they have 10 already in discussion with Cidel. So if you are a Hilton Honor brand, good times for you. You're going to have some, some cool, uh, hotels to stay at. Yeah, I agree, David. You said it. That's another one. Bites the dust. What are you going to do? I just feel like we're We're gonna see more and more of this. we saw this happen twice in a month by Hilton. I feel like we're gonna have probably a few more of these over the rest of the year. So, What are you gonna do? Hilton honor members? Good for you. David Millili: Yeah, that's great. And so we're also seeing, so now that you know, news is out, the Blackstone is going to be pouncing on hotel real estate, you know, thoughts on that, Steve? Steve Carran: Yeah, I [00:03:00] mean, they have, I feel like they, they, they are It took a backseat to hotels for a few years, in the 2010s, I feel like they acquired a few brands, but now, it's that real estate market. They were talking about how guests aren't just staying at hotels anymore, it's a whole experience. Hilton has a partnership with AutoCamp. Marriott has a partnership with MGM. It's more of a travel ecosystem now, not just a hotel business. So it's a great time to be in the hotel world or getting into the hotel world or back into the hotel world, I feel like. And Blackstone is definitely taking advantage of real estate with, normal houses. But now turning back to hotels and it makes sense. What do you think? David Millili: Yeah. And we can see it. I mean, you know, we were talking before we got on air that even though the interest rates are high in markets like here in Phoenix, it's kind of stabilized the housing pricing. So now is a good time to buy if you can, right? Live with that [00:04:00] interest rate for the next, you know, several years. We don't have guests on this segment, but if we did, I would have invited Ray Martz from Pebble Brook to get his thoughts on what's happening. and maybe we'll just, you know, tag him in the post and get some people to give us some additional feedback. Steve Carran: Absolutely. And kind of on that topic, the U.S Hotel State of the Union, report came out by CBR Hotels. Some of the key takeaways from that were wage growth is above inflation. but the REVPAR from February was negative for the third straight month down 1.5 Resorts are, are leading the way in REVPAR, and short term rentals continue to take more of the market share. Short term rental demand rose 11.7 and hotels declined 1.3 Out of those, uh, fun facts, David, what, what really jumps out to you? David Millili: Well, as I was reading it and looking at the key takeaways, You know, to kind of piggyback [00:05:00] on what we talked about with, Blackstone, even though there's higher interest rates, they still are seeing loan counts double, CMBS, and so, I mean, I think that's just something that's showing you that, there still is appetite even with these high interest rates, whether it be housing or hotels for people to start to make moves and buy those assets up, so I think we always hear people complaining, as you said, the good news is, it seems like the staffing is coming back, and it's still, and I know we'll get people who will, chime in on this, it's still not where it needs to be, because of how many jobs we lost, but at least We're moving in the right direction and we're not continuing to regress. Steve Carran: Absolutely. Yeah, I agree 100 percent with you on that one. David Millili: So, also, news is that summer demand for U.S hotels, is up. as you read that, Steve, what did you think, what stood out to you there? Steve Carran: Yeah, revenge travel, right? That's been all the craze since COVID. I think we're, still gonna see that. Leisure has, been probably the biggest [00:06:00] travel and bleisure is getting into that as well. but you know, one thing that was talked about the summer demand and we're seeing this more and more is the experiences. More people are staying close to the experiences that they want to stay at, and more people are looking for those full experience in hotels. And you know, we're going to be talking to, a guest coming up here about how they've transformed their hotel into not just a hotel but Multiple experiences, whether that's dining, bars or virtual reality golf or something like that. that's what people are looking to do. So it's kind of spread out a little bit as far as what types of, resorts people are staying at, but. People want the experiences. David Millili: Yeah, and it's great for our industry and I think you're right. I mean, the revenge travel is, I think, morphing into just, we need to travel. Get out there and do things and, obviously when you, aren't able to do something, it makes it that much more desirable, go read up on prohibition. so I think the [00:07:00] travel is, definitely coming back and that's great for our industry. Steve Carran: Absolutely. And one thing that I read that I thought was interesting is guest expectations are now back to before COVID. they want their room service. They want those amenities that they're paying those hotel resort fees. There better be some, some good amenities with those resort fees. So, those consumer expectations back to where they were. and now, David, Las Vegas Hotel, the Tropicana, is is closing to make room for, the Los Angeles A's baseball team that is move or not Los Angeles, Las Vegas baseball team that is moving in. Have you ever stayed at the Tropicana? ever, been there? Or, any good stories from the Tropicana at all? David Millili: you know, I told Jon our producer that, I don't think I've stayed there, but there's a lot of things I don't remember about my trips to Las Vegas. So maybe I just don't recall it. it was a landmark, you know, it was, in business for [00:08:00] 67 years. and it just, goes to show you how that, city is evolving from, what was just kind of a gambling rat pack mob based type of place to go to now it is the entertainment capital of the world. I know, I worked with people and there were rumors that, an NFL team was coming to Las Vegas. I had one person who grew up, their whole life in Las Vegas and they said, that will never happen. There will never be a pro football team in Las Vegas and look at where we're at now. I mean, we've got NFL, NHL, baseball team coming. I'm sure basketball is on the way. I don't know. Steve Carran: LeBron wants to be the owner of the Vegas team. So, David Millili: have you been, Steve Carran: I have never been to the Tropicana, I don't believe. but I mean, it's one of the most historical hotels in Vegas, but, Also, I'm very excited for, the Las Vegas A's baseball stadium. I don't know if you've seen any other renderings yet, but it looks [00:09:00] absolutely incredible. David Millili: well, I hope it's a done deal because that's all renderings of the Coyotes new stadium here in Scottsdale and now they're going to now they're going to Salt Lake City. So I was, that was a kind of a, you know, a surprise, but, uh, you know, shame on, shame on Phoenix for letting that happen. But Steve Carran: I agree. David Millili: So also, uh, we'll kind of wrap with this, which is kind of a nice, talking point that Lafayette in San Diego was named Hotel of the Year by Esquire. I love it because it's an independent. What are your thoughts on that? Steve Carran: Yeah, no, it is, very cool to see an independent top. I think it's for new hotels in 2024, but, you know, great to see an independent And, it looks like a great hotel, I've never been, looks, you know, very independenty and, An awesome stay. If we go to San Diego, we definitely have to check it out. Have you been? David Millili: No, I'm not looking forward to it. you know, good news is, you know, it's a short flight for, for both of us. Either Denver or Lafayette. Phoenix or a short drive, from the Phoenix area. So it's definitely something that I'm going to [00:10:00] want to check out. San Diego is a great, great town. Steve Carran: Absolutely. And it seems like that, that hotel has some really cool style to it as well. It looks very independent. So, we definitely have to check it out next time we're in San Diego. So, yeah. Anything else you got, David? David Millili: No, I think that's it. So that's a, another edition or second edition of Hospitality Hot Topics. we would love it if you would go on LinkedIn, comment, direct message us, give us some feedback, give us some stuff that we might've missed out. Obviously we only had a couple of topics there, so, we look forward to the next episode. Steve Carran: Thanks so much. David Millili: Thank you. [00:11:00]