Worldwide systemwide revenue per available room at Marriott International is expected to increase by approximately 7% during the first quarter, which is at the low end of the company’s previous guidance of a 7% to 9% increase.
North American RevPAR “has been modestly lower than expected,” the company said. Marriott expects North American systemwide RevPAR growth of 5% to 6% during the first quarter.
Marriott is scheduled to release first-quarter results at 5 p.m. (eastern) on 20 April.
A pair of hotel companies announced news regarding share offerings this morning.
First, FelCor Lodging Trust priced its public offering of 24 million shares at US$6 per share. Net proceeds are expected to be US$138.2 million, or US$159 million if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares is exercised in full.
The real-estate investment trust said net proceeds could be used for general corporate purposes and also could be invested in short-term, interest-bearing investments or used torepay borrowings under its credit line.
Supertel Hospitality will, from time to time, sell up to 2 million shares of common stock, the company said in United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings today.
Proceeds would be used to repay outstanding indebtedness on the company’s revolving credit facility with Great Western Bank.
Group pricing power in the United States took a step back during the first quarter, according to a report from HotelNewsNow.com’s Patrick Mayock.
The trend seen during the quarter reverses the group pricing optimism witnessed during 2010, according to Wells Fargo Securities’ Meeting/Event Planner Survey.
“The proportion of hotel-based planners who felt hotels have negotiating leverage for dates in 2011 was 28%, down from 36% in our October 2010 survey. Similarly, the proportion citing 2012 fell to 58% from an astounding 94% in our last survey,” according to the report.
Deferred maintenance costs are piling up, but banks aren’t offering straight renovation loans, reports HotelNewsNow.com’s Jason Q. Freed. That leaves hotel owners with only a few options: sell, refinance or get out the checkbook.
For those owners who don’t want to unload the property and can’t afford capital improvements, one option that is much more prevalent today than even six months ago is to seek out a bridge loan.
“The best way to get renovation financing today is to roll the request into an overall refinance or acquisition loan. Lenders will most likely require one loan,” said Jane Larkin, managing director of Larkin Hospitality Finance. “I am currently working with a client to refinance his property and a portion of the loan proceeds will go towards property improvements.”
Marriott International last weekend revealed the new room design for its Residence Inn properties during the brand’s GMs conference, according to a report from HotelNewsNow.com’s Shawn A. Turner.
Among the changes:
• A larger desk now faces the window instead of being situated with the guest’s back to the door.
• The desk features an outlet strip, with the outlets spread farther apart so they won’t be covered by larger power supplies.
• Sectional sofas will be added to the rooms after Marriott officials discovered during their market research that guests didn’t care about having the lounge chair that had been included.
• The dresser unit is positioned in front of the bed, blocking the guest’s view of his or her desk from the bed and thus giving a sense of separation of work during rest periods.
• Marriott has implemented what it calls a “shed the day” caddy tray built into a table near the door, which guests can use to put down the items (keys, cell phone, etc.) they carry around all day.
• Calming colors (such as blues) are used in the bedroom area of the room, while hotter, more active colors (such as reds, or “chipotle”) are used in the kitchen, dining room and other areas guests spend the most time when awake.
Compiled by Shawn A. Turner.
