The U.S. hotel sector is receiving a lot of interest these days from foreign shores, writes HotelNewsNow.com’s Shawn A. Turner.
Investors based in such regions as Asia/Pacific and the Middle East are looking at the U.S. as a safe place to put their money, sources report.
Enrique Torres, an analyst with Newport Beach, California-based Green Street Advisors, said global investors are looking for cash-flowing assets. “That’s where the financing is,” he added.
Asia/Pacific investors are particularly active, sources report.
Great Wolf Resorts informed Apollo Global Management over the weekend it is prepared to accept KSL Capital Partners' bid of $7 a share.
During the past month, Apollo and KSL have been busy trying to trump each other with bids to acquire Great Wolf. Apollo started things off last month with a bid of $5 per share. KSL countered last week with a bid of $6.25; Apollo fired back at $6.75; and KSL upped the ante again to $7 a share.
Apollo's most recent offer of $6.75 will be terminated within three business days, Great Wolf said in a statement. However, there is no assurance a deal with KSL will necessarily be made, the company added.
Marriott International plans to double the number of hotels in the Caribbean and Latin America within the next five years, according to a news release. The number of jobs at Marriott hotels in the region is expected to increase from 13,000 to 27,000 by the end of 2017.
The company also said it expects to double its presence in Colombia with the additions of Marriott hotels in both Cartagena and Cali.
Marriott has 35 hotels signed and under development in the Caribbean and Latin America, including: the Ritz-Carlton, Aruba; The Ritz-Carlton, Panama City (Panama); JW Marriott Cusco (Peru); Port-au-Prince Marriott Hotel (Haiti); and the Renaissance Santiago (Chile).
Marriott has 69 hotels in 25 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America.
The travel sector led international trade in goods and services in February 2012. On the heels of the announcement from the U.S. Department of Commerce, David Huether, senior VP of economics and research at the U.S. Travel Association, said February was a tale of two sectors on the export front.
“Exports of goods fell $552 million for the month, while services exports—led by travel—expanded by $792 million,” he said in a statement. “In fact, the $275 million increase in travel exports accounted for more than a third (35%) of the total increase in service exports in February.”
"During the 12 months ending in February, travel exports increased by 13.7%, the best 12-month performance since last September,” Huether added. “Momentum has continued to remain strong, with travel exports growing at an annual rate of 11.5% during the most recent three months.”
The Modern Honolulu, still entrenched a legal battle after its owners filed for bankruptcy to effectively remove Marriott as the property’s operator, has hired a new GM.
Vittal Calamur has been involved with the hotel since its development phase in 2007, according to a news release from the property’s new management, Aqua Hotels & Resorts.
“I look forward to leading The Modern Honolulu team and am confident that our employees are committed to ensuring the property’s success,” Calamur said. “Concepting and engineering the property’s transformation, as part of the ownership’s asset management team during its hard-hat days, has been an incredible experience.”
Compiled by Jason Q. Freed.
