Sales of U.S. Hotel Assets Sagged in First Half 2023

25.08.2023 - 13:11 / skift.com / Marriott Bonvoy / Sean Oneill / Alan Woinski

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LW Hospitality Advisors’ major U.S. hotel sales surveys for the first half of the year showed year-over-year decreases in hotel sales and dollar volume as well as prices per key. The surveys found a 36% drop in transactionspriced at $10 million or more. Total dollar volume declined by half, and the price per key dropped 4% to an average price per key of $257,000.

Interest-rate uncertainty has been a key driver of the slowdown in hotel asset sales. Some owners have been reluctant to sell properties at today’s terms in case better terms may be available months from now. Get all the numbers from the LW Hospitality Advisors report, here.

That said, some hotel properties are still changing hands. For example, this week, Noble Investment Group announced the acquisition of 10 WoodSpring Suites hotels in the southeastern United States. The portfolio is throughout Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

Marriott International revealed this week it had signed a licensing deal with MGM Resorts to let Marriott Bonvoy loyalty members earn points when staying at 17 MGM resorts, starting in October. Bookings at 40,000 of MGM’s rooms mainly in Las Vegas will be available through Marriott’s site and app by year-end.

Marriott also entered into a loyalty marketing agreement with BetMGM, MGM Resorts International’s online gaming and sports betting joint venture, for Marriott Bonvoy to become Bet MGM’s exclusive hospitality loyalty program partner in the U.S. and Canada. 

“The announcement confirms a long-time view of mine that the casino resort and traditional hotel industries would eventually become an item, so to speak,” said Alan Woinski, editor of Daily Lodging Report.

For context, see Skift’s story: Marriott to Bet on Gaming With MGM Resorts Loyalty Program Tie-Up.

The City of London Corporation, which governs the financial district of the British capital, wants to transform under-used offices into hotels. Officials believe as much as 20% of old office blocks could be turned into hotels. While this sounds good, many office buildings aren’t outfitted in a way that makes conversion to hotels cost-effective. However, sitting empty is worse.

Across London as a whole, officials believe that if tourism demand trends continue at their current pace, it will need 58,000 extra bedrooms of serviced accommodation by around 2040. So more travel lodging in the financial district could help.

Well-regarded restaurants can cash in on their name recognition by licensing their names to restaurants run by hotels. Il Mulino New York, for one, said this week it would