David Eisen

🏦 At the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference, predictions for 2025 include possible growth or reckoning for hotel investments. Blackstone and Brookfield, with a combined $2 trillion in assets under management (AUM), are selling more than buying, with Blackstone offloading $2 billion in assets last year including the Motel 6 chain to India's Oyo and considering selling Spain-based Hotel Investment Partners. Brookfield sold high-profile properties like The Diplomat Beach Resort and Conrad Seoul. Blackstone's recent purchases focused on Japan and Greece, buying three hotels in Japan and the Grand Hyatt Athens in December 2024. Interest rate expectations affected Blackstone, with only three cuts compared to the seven they anticipated. Brookfield looked at $6 billion in assets last year, acquiring $800 million, with an aim to be a net buyer in 2025. Noble Investment Group plans to sell $1 billion and buy $2 billion in assets despite a "wonky" investment environment. Hilton CFO Kevin Jacobs discussed efforts to drive cost savings to owners and franchisees and highlighted Hilton's technology revamp with its Property Engagement Platform and connected room interfaces. Labor efficiency remains a focus, with AI's role in reducing costs and improving operations being explored, while consumer confidence issues loom over the industry.

📌 Global hotel investment volume reached $57.4 billion in 2024, up 7% from 2023 but still the third-lowest since 2012. At the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference in Atlanta, industry leaders expressed concerns about economic uncertainty and the impact of higher interest rates on asset values and transactions. Hotel asset values have decreased by roughly 20% due to the challenging last two years. A CNBC Fed survey forecasts a GDP decline to 1.7% in 2025 from 2.4%, impacting travel demand. Luxury spending has dropped by 5% in February, signaling potential struggles for luxury hotels. Despite difficulties, opportunities for buyers exist in market dynamics and capitulation from institutions like Blackstone and Brookfield. Hotel development is sluggish due to high building costs and borrowing rates, leading to a preference for maintaining current assets.

🛏 Dometic Group from Solna, Sweden, known for minibars, offers over 30 models including silent-operation units. Vingcard in Plano, Texas, part of Assa Abloy Group, provides eight types of electronic locking systems, including smartphone-enabled access. Philips Professional Display Solutions in Milpitas, California, features MediaSuite for guest entertainment without additional equipment. SuitePad from Berlin allows 70% of hotel guests preferring app communication to personalize their stay via in-room tablets. Hotel Technologies in Rahway, New Jersey, advances the multi-functional hotel alarm clock with charging stations and Bluetooth speakers.

🏨 Sean Hehir, CEO of Trinity Investments, specializes in upper-upscale and luxury hotels, acquiring the Standard, London (266 rooms) in November 2024 and the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle (450 rooms) in December. In 2023, Trinity and Credit Suisse Asset Management purchased the 1,000-room Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Fla., for $835 million. Post a $90-million renovation in 2018, the resort secured a $575-million loan for repositioning under Hilton’s Signia brand. STR predicts a RevPAR increase in the luxury segment by 2.9% in 2025, 2.2% in 2026, and 2.5% in 2027, while forecasting a RevPAR decrease in the midscale segment by 0.7% in 2025. Trinity invested over $730 million in hotel assets in 2024, steering more than $8 billion in 25 years. Global hotel deals are expected to rise 25% in 2025.