On the day it was to go into effect, the White House issued a 60-day extension that will push the compliance date for the pool-lift requirement under the Americans with Disabilities Act to 15 May, according to a news release from the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
The Department of Justice also will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with a 15-day comment period on a possible six-month extension to allow additional time to address misunderstandings regarding compliance with these ADA requirements.
The AH&LA advised hoteliers to proceed forward in complying with the pool-lift requirement under the ADA. Properties featuring pools and spas will still need a means of entry, and the AH&LA will meet with White House officials next week to discuss the original interpretation of the 2010 ADA Standards.
A simple pricing formula is making it easier for revenue managers and GMs to clarify the risks associated with a given pricing decision on gross operating profit before that pricing decision is implemented. The formula is the topic of focus in HSMAI’s monthly column by Trevor Stuart-Hill.
Of course, other factors should also be considered when making a pricing decision. These might include things such as ancillary revenue capture potential; changes in variable costs at given occupancy thresholds; guest experience associated with various occupancy levels; property awareness goals; and target mix of business, Stuart-Hill writes. But the above formula will give you more objective data with which to enter into any pricing decision.
STR and STR Global, parent and sister companies of HotelNewsNow.com, respectively, on Friday released February pipeline figures for Central/South America and Caribbean/Mexico.
Central/South America: The Central/South America hotel development pipeline comprises 213 hotels totaling 30,657 rooms.
Among the chain-scale segments, the midscale segment accounted for the largest portion of rooms in the total active pipeline with 23.9% and 7,336 rooms, followed by the upscale segment (22.2% with 6,799 rooms) and the upper-upscale segment (20.1% with 6,166 rooms).
Caribbean/Mexico: The Caribbean/Mexico hotel development pipeline comprises 128 hotels totaling 17,616 rooms.
Among the countries in the region, Mexico ended the month with the most rooms under construction, reporting 4,771 rooms. Other countries to report a significant number of rooms under construction: Dominican Republic (1,437 rooms); Bahamas (1,243 rooms); Aruba (320 rooms); Puerto Rico (265 rooms); and Haiti (237 rooms).
As spring approaches, the average price of a standard double room is increasing in a majority of European cities, according to trivago’s Hotel Price Index.
Geneva, London and Paris top the list of most expensive cities in Europe. Nordic capitals, among the few to show decreases in price this month, also are reporting the highest increased rates in March. Oslo (£134, or $212.45, down 1%), Stockholm (£129, or $204.52 down 5%) and Copenhagen (£108, or $171.22down 3%) all fall within the top 10 most expensive cities in Europe this month.
Amsterdam also is experiencing a rise in its overnight rate by 18%, reaching £113 ($179.15). While in Istanbul, Rome and Vienna prices have seen the most significant price increases this month—29%, 23% and 19%, reaching £97 ($153.78), £107 ($169.62) and £103 ($163.28), respectively.
As property operations climb to former levels, the investment market is surging with renewed vigor as buyers push to acquire assets priced well below recent peaks, according to a first-quarter analysis from Marcus & Millichap, a hotel real-estate service provider. Pricing varies by region and by major and secondary markets, with properties in high demand areas of large markets such as Texas and California often achieving the best prices for sellers. Generally, most select-service, limited-service and economy brands change hands at capitalization rates ranging from the mid-8% to mid-9%, depending on location.
Distressed properties continue to come to market, but the recovery in operations might enable many owners to avoid distress and obtain loan extensions. The recovery also continues to whet investor appetites for stable properties, and many more of these assets will likely change hands during 2012 as buyers seek to take immediate advantage of the industry’s upward trends. Financing capacity is expanding for strong sponsorship and steady cash flows, while many borrowers are finding advantageous terms available in Small Business Administration loans.
Compiled by Patrick Mayock.
