After rumors surrounding multiple brands were interested, the Old Post Office Building in Washington, D.C., will undergo an extensive historic renovation and become part of the Trump Hotel Collection, reports HotelNewsNow.com’s Stephanie Wharton.
The Trump organization announced Tuesday it was selected by the U.S. General Services Administration as the developer of the much sought-after Old Post Office Building.
David Orowitz, VP of acquisitions and development for the Trump Organization, said the company’s executives are excited about finally having closed a deal in the difficult-to-enter Washington market.
“The Old Post Office is in a prime location. It’s two blocks from everything that makes D.C. great,” he said. The touristic spots, including the White House, as well as a business district nearby are just a few of the drivers of demand for the new hotel.
Under the proposal, the Trump Hotel Collection will be the investor, developer, brand and operator for the 250-plus room property. Colony Capital partnered with Trump on the proposal and will be the co-investor.
“Tom Barrack (founder, chairman and CEO of Colony Capital) and Mr. (Donald) Trump have a 30-year personal and business relationship,” Orowitz said. The two companies successfully partnered in the past on complex, high-end projects, and executives at Trump are confident the partnership will bode well with the Old Post Office Building.
Both Wyndham Worldwide and Walt Disney Company released their fourth quarter and end-of-year 2011 earnings today, and hospitality revenues were up over 2010 in both instances.
For Wyndham Worldwide, free cash flow increased to US$754 million for the year ending 31 December 2011, compared with US$603 million in 2010. Wyndham’s board of directors authorized an increase in the quarterly cash dividend to 23 cents from 15 cents per share, beginning with the dividend that is expected to be declared in the first quarter of 2012.
Also during the fourth quarter, Wyndham repurchased 6.7 million shares of its common stock for US$225 million at an average price of US$33.78, bringing the full-year stock repurchase total to 28.7 million shares for US$902 million at an average price of US$31.45.
"2011 was another excellent year for our company," Stephen P. Holmes, CEO of Wyndham Worldwide, said in a news release. "In an environment of ongoing economic uncertainty, our businesses continued to execute at a high level."
Specifically looking at Wyndham Hotel Group, revenues were US$188 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of 15% over the fourth quarter of 2010, reflecting a revenue-per-available-room improvement of 5%. The development pipeline includes nearly 850 hotels and 111,900 rooms, of which 57% are new construction and 60% are international.
On the Disney side, even Mickey Mouse is getting more cost-conscious. Executives at the Walt Disney Company yesterday during the company’s first-quarter earnings call discussed the company’s introduction of more low-cost hotel rooms coming to market.
“We're opening the Art of Animation Resort. Actually, it's opening in waves. And most of what we're opening are family suites, where we've seen a real demand in the marketplace,” said Disney President and CEO Robert A. Iger. “We actually converted some of our space in some of our other hotels to family suites.”
Disney will open different parts of the Art of Animation resort over the next couple years, with most it being in the family suite category, Iger said. He said he believes they’re selling family suites for US$200 to US$225 a night, calling it a “value room or a value accommodation.”
Average spend per room at domestic hotels was up 6% while occupancy was flat, the company reported.
Extended-stay hotels’ average rate growth of 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2011 was the strongest rate of quarterly increase in 2011, and it was the fastest fourth-quarter gain since 2007, according to consultancy and research firm Highland Group Hotel Investment Advisers.
Extended-stay hotels reported faster rate increases in the second, third and fourth quarters in 2011. Revenue-per-available-room growth of 7.9% in the fourth quarter also was the highest quarterly increase of the year, and nominal RevPAR is within 3% of its all time high set in 2007. With extended-stay room supply growth at its lowest level in more than 15 years, extended-stay hotel nominal RevPAR in 2012 is likely to exceed its previous peaks.
The North American hotel market continues its steady climb out of the economic slump, according to data and owner insight at a recent Starwood franchisees and owners board members meeting.
At the meeting, Bobby Bowers, VP of operations for STR, HotelNewsNow.com’s parent company, presented research that showed improved industry revenue-per-available-room growth in the U.S., which experienced an 8.2% gain in 2011.
Starwood owners confirmed the findings, reporting Starwood-branded hotels in North America experienced impressive RevPAR and occupancy growth in 2011.
“Hotels with Starwood brands have shown excellent results overall and will continue to benefit from the strength and support of one of the world’s leading hotel organizations,” said John Shingler, president of the Association of Starwood Franchisees & Owners–North America. “With steady market improvement annually over the past several years, the hotel industry is on a positive trajectory and, although some economic challenges do continue, there are enough indicators to be extremely optimistic for healthy industry growth in North America for 2012.”
Less than one-third of companies overall have updated their travel policies within the last year, according to a survey of 100 corporate policies from American Express Global Business Travel. This oversight can leave companies exposed to losing hard-earned corporate negotiated rates and, more importantly, might put travelers at unnecessary risk.
Highlights of the policy gaps exposed in this report include:
• Only 12% addressed traveler security despite it being a critical issue for companies to consider as more and more employees embark on worldwide business travel.
• 80% did not address reimbursement of ancillary fees such as checked bags, reservation change fees or other for-purchase services offered at hotels and car rentals.
• Only 35% of smaller companies and large international organizations require an agency to book hotels, compared to 85% of global companies.
• None of the travel policies addressed the use of mobile applications or even referenced tools they might have available for travelers to use on the road or when working remotely.
• 70% of companies do not provide specific guidelines to travelers on when it makes sense to book airfares through a non-preferred supplier if the ticket price is less expensive.
Compiled by Patrick Mayock and Jason Q. Freed.
