Fibra Inn Completes Acquisition of the Casa Grande Ciudad Juarez Hotel

The transaction was paid with resources coming from debt issuance, representing a final investment of Ps. 111.3 million plus taxes, acquisition-related expenses and corresponding VAT expenses.

Deutsche Bank Mexico, S.A., Banking institution, Trust Division F/1616 or Fibra Inn (BMV:FINN13, ADR OTC:DFBRY) announced that it has concluded the acquisition of the Casa Grande Ciudad Juarez hotel. The hotel has 145 rooms and operates in the full-service segment. Fibra Inn´s hotel operator will be in charge of the operation of the hotel.

The transaction was paid with resources coming from debt issuance, representing a final investment of Ps. 111.3 million plus taxes, acquisition-related expenses and corresponding VAT expenses. The strategy is to maximize the return of this property focusing on the following:

(i) The conversion of this hotel to the Holiday Inn brand, for which an additional Ps. 110.4 million will be allocated.

(ii) The construction of 50 additional rooms, for which Ps. 57.2 million will be allocated.

The projected cap rate for 2016 is 9.26%. Once stabilized, with the room expansions and the conversion to an international brand, a cap rate of 10.71% is expected for 2018. The rebranding and the room additions are expected to conclude during the fourth quarter of 2017.

This is the 10^th acquisition in Chihuahua and reaffirms Fibra Inn’s leadership position in this highly-dynamic state. This is due to the strongmaquiladora and manufacturing activity in this area, which shall benefit as a result of its proximity to the U.S. border.

As a result of this acquisition, Fibra Inn has a total portfolio of 42 properties; of which 41 hotels are in operation and one is under a binding agreement. The total is 7,027 rooms, of which 221 are currently under construction.

Hotel La Jolla Joins Curio Collection

Upscale Hotel on Pacific Coast Owned and Managed by Khanna Enterprises, LTD Joins Expanding Global Collection

Hotel La Jolla today joins Curio – A Collection by Hilton. Hotel La Jolla, Curio – A Collection by Hilton, is owned and managed by Khanna Enterprises, LTD.

Steps from the ocean and in the heart of one of the West Coast’s most exclusive communities, Hotel La Jolla features a sleek boutique Southern California ambiance with all of the modern amenities today’s savvy traveler has come to expect. Welcoming guests to the modern hotel is a large, sun-drenched lobby living room featuring floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Our hotels are truly a reflection of the local communities in which they reside, and Hotel La Jolla perfectly embodies the understated yet fashionable ambiance of the area,” said Dianna Vaughan, senior vice president and global head, Curio – A Collection by Hilton and DoubleTree by Hilton. “With its design set in earth tones inspired by the nearby iconic Torrey Pines Golf Course, Hotel La Jolla gives curious travelers who are looking for a casual coastal retreat an authentic Southern California experience.”

The 110-room hotel includes the Hiatus Lounge & Pool, a modern oasis boasting fire pits, lush landscaping and a large heated pool where guests can enjoy craft cocktails and small bites. Featuring a wraparound bar, Hiatus Lounge & Pool can also be used as an event space for private gatherings of up to 200 guests. Other hotel features include a 24-hour fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment.

The hotel also offers memorable dining at CUSP, a unique culinary experience with incredible views of the Pacific Ocean from the 11^th floor. Led by award-winning Executive Chef Donald Lockhart, CUSP has locally-inspired dishes featuring seasonal produce, homemade pastas and locally-sourced meats, ensuring guests can experience the best La Jolla has to offer. Popular items include Apricot Crispy Glazed Cauliflower, Red Wine Braised Beef Cheeks and Pan Seared Sea Bass.

“We’re honored that Hotel La Jolla will be included in such a distinguished and unique portfolio of hotels and resorts around the globe,” said Ravi Khanna, president and CEO of Khanna Enterprises, LTD. “Becoming part of Curio will allow our guests to enjoy a local and distinctive hotel experience, while enjoying the benefits of Hilton’s award-winning HHonors program.”

Offering spectacular views of the coastline, the hotel has nearly 1,400 square feet of meeting space on the 11^th floor. The Starling Ballroom, which can be separated into two distinct spaces, features nearly 1,000 square feet of space that can be configured multiple ways for events with up to 80 guests. Additionally, CUSP offers two private dining rooms that can accommodate up to 25 guests. Customized menus, high-speed Wi-Fi and state-of-the-art audio visual equipment ensure any event will be a success.

Hotel La Jolla, Curio – A Collection by Hilton, participates in the Hilton HHonors® loyalty program, which is open to all guests and free to join. Visit here for enrollment information. HHonors members always get our lowest price with our Best Price Guarantee, along with HHonors Points, free standard Wi-Fi, access to digital check-in and Digital Key, and no hidden fees, only when they book directly through Hilton.

To celebrate the hotel’s addition to the Curio collection, guests will enjoy a bonus of 1,000 HHonors points per night for Sunday through Thursday stays with a two-night minimum between July 26, 2016 and October 26, 2016. Diamond HHonors members staying at Hotel La Jolla will enjoy complimentary breakfast for up to two registered guests per room – or bonus points – and space-available room upgrades.

Hotel La Jolla, Curio – A Collection by Hilton, is located at 7955 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037. 

U.S. March Jobless Rates Down over the Year in 270 of 387 Metro Areas

METROPOLITAN AREA EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT -- MARCH 2016


Unemployment rates were lower in March than a year earlier in 270 of the 387
metropolitan areas, higher in 98 areas, and unchanged in 19 areas, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Ten areas had jobless rates of 
less than 3.0 percent and 11 areas had rates of at least 10.0 percent.
Nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 332 metropolitan areas,
decreased in 51 areas, and was unchanged in 4 areas. The national unemployment
rate in March was 5.1 percent, not seasonally adjusted, down from 5.6 percent
a year earlier.

Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Ames, Iowa, and Sioux Falls, S.D., had the lowest unemployment rates in
March, 2.4 percent each. El Centro, Calif., had the highest unemployment
rate, 18.6 percent. A total of 195 areas had March jobless rates below the
U.S. rate of 5.1 percent, 181 areas had rates above it, and 11 areas had
rates equal to that of the nation. (See table 1.)

El Centro, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz., had the largest over-the-year unemployment
rate decreases in March (-4.1 percentage points each). Three other areas had
rate declines of at least 2.0 percentage points. The largest over-the-year
rate increase occurred in Casper, Wyo. (+2.6 percentage points), followed by
Odessa, Texas (+2.2 points). 

Of the 51 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more,
Austin-Round Rock, Texas, had the lowest unemployment rate in March, 3.1 percent.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis., had the highest rate among the large
areas, 6.6 percent. Thirty-six large areas had over-the-year unemployment rate
decreases, 11 had increases, and 4 had no change. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim,
Calif., and Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark., had the largest rate decreases (-1.7 percentage
points each). The largest over-the-year rate increases occurred in Chicago-
Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis., and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas
(+0.6 percentage point each).

Metropolitan Division Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Eleven of the most populous metropolitan areas are made up of 38 metropolitan
divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers. In
March, San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, Calif., and San Rafael,
Calif., had the lowest unemployment rates among the divisions, 3.2 percent each.
Gary, Ind., had the highest division rate, 7.5 percent. (See table 2.)

In March, 33 metropolitan divisions had over-the-year unemployment rate decreases
and 5 had increases. The largest decline occurred in Los Angeles-Long Beach-
Glendale, Calif. (-2.1 percentage points). The largest over-the-year rate increase
occurred in Elgin, Ill. (+0.8 percentage point).

Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In March, 332 metropolitan areas had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll
employment, 51 had decreases, and 4 had no change. The largest over-the-year
employment increases occurred in New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (+193,200),
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. (+145,300), and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington,
Texas (+129,900). The largest over-the-year percentage gain in employment occurred
in Ocean City, N.J. (+9.5 percent), followed by Madera, Calif. (+7.5 percent), and
St. George, Utah (+6.2 percent). (See table 3.)

The largest over-the-year decreases in employment occurred in Lafayette, La.
(-9,300), Houma-Thibodaux, La. (-6,500), and Odessa, Texas (-4,100). The largest
over-the-year percentage decreases in employment occurred in Casper, Wyo. (-7.2 percent),
Houma-Thibodaux, La. (-6.6 percent), and Odessa, Texas (-5.3 percent).
 
Over the year, nonfarm employment rose in 50 of the 51 metropolitan areas with a
2010 Census population of 1 million or more and fell in Rochester, N.Y. (-0.5 percent).
The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment in these large
metropolitan areas occurred in Richmond, Va. (+4.5 percent), followed by Orlando-
Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla. (+4.3 percent), and Austin-Round Rock, Texas (+4.1 percent).  

Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In March, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 37 of the 38 metropolitan
divisions over the year and was unchanged in Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead, Mass. The
largest over-the-year increase in employment among the metropolitan divisions
occurred in New York-Jersey City-White Plains, N.Y.-N.J. (+154,800), followed by
Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+112,600), and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.
(+97,700). (See table 4.)

The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the metropolitan
divisions occurred in Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury Town, Mass.-N.H. (+5.3 percent),
followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+4.8 percent), and Brockton-Bridgewater-
Easton, Mass. (+4.3 percent).

_____________
The Regional and State Employment and Unemployment news release for April
is scheduled to be released on Friday, May 20, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for April
is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, 

The New Frontier of Hotel Revenue Management

A Discussion between Jeremie Catez, former revenue manager at Accor’s Novotel Times Square and the founder of Beewake and our own Alex Shashou, President and co-founder of ALICE

If the person at your hotel in charge of room booking is singularly focused on top line revenue, there’s a chance you’re missing out on bottom line profit. As booking becomes more competitive and customer acquisition costs rise, it’s time for your revenue manager to maximize profits in a holistic way.   

Jeremie Catez, former revenue manager at Accor’s Novotel Times Square and the founder of Beewake, knows a lot about this. At Accor, Catez implemented a Revenue Management culture through the entire property; not just in sales, but in the restaurant as well as at the front desk. Catez also started selling guest rooms during the day in order to maximize profitability. Now with his new companyBeewake, Catez lets users book daytime space – rooms at hotels, meeting rooms for day use, office spaces, desks or coworking spaces – to make it easier for hotels to leverage underutilized guest rooms and meeting spaces for an additional revenue stream. 

The following is a discussion between Catez and ALICE’s Alex Shashou about ways to reimagine the revenue management role: 

Start with a reexamination of the name:

Jeremie: The biggest problem with the revenue management status quo at hotels right now might be in the name. If revenue is the sole priority, how much opportunity for profit is being missed? It makes a lot more sense to be focused on profit. Since the battle for hotel bookings and distribution has increased costs, and more hotels are being owned by private investors, it makes sense that the job description be much more focused on profit management than revenue. 

Alex: That’s a great point, Jeremie. 

In most industries, companies have a holistic appreciation of revenues and costs. Yet hotels seem so focused on rates and occupancy, there is a lot of opportunity being missed. As highlighted in our data ebook last month, one hotel of ours goes so far as to rate their guests for cleanliness. If a housekeeper can save a few minutes turning each room, there are cost savings to be had. Or If you have two people sharing a room, spending more on F&B versus a single corporate traveller who doesn’t eat at the hotel, there is more revenue per booking to be had. Yet with revenue managers almost entirely focused on attracting bookings, who is responsible for factoring all these other revenue opportunities into the equation? 

Establish a more reliable customer lifetime value for dynamic pricing:

Jeremie: Correct. We have to start looking at lifetime value of our customers and adapting around this dynamically through as many data points as are available. Hotels are getting there, but there’s a ways to go. Most hotels aren’t recording rich enough data in their CRMs to even begin charging dynamically around the value of the guest and their costs of service and ancillary spend on hotel services. Ideally, everyone should see different prices. 

Alex: We have seen this model many times, often relating to a guest’s social status but are yet to see hotels really push the boundaries of a CRM that is integrated into all the guest’s spending and habits. 

Jennifer Ridgely Torsleff Named Senior Director of Revenue Optimization for John Q. Hammons Hotels

With 18 years of hospitality experience, Torsleff will be responsible for leading the JQH revenue optimization department in successfully establishing and executing strategies that achieve or exceed corporate goals for 35 JQH hotels and more than 1 million square feet of superb meeting space.

John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts (JQH) yesterday announced that Jennifer Ridgely Torsleff has been promoted to senior director of revenue optimization for the Springfield, Mo.-based company. 

With 18 years of hospitality experience, Torsleff will be responsible for leading the JQH revenue optimization department in successfully establishing and executing strategies that achieve or exceed corporate goals for 35 JQH hotels and more than 1 million square feet of superb meeting space.

Most recently, Torsleff served as regional director of sales and revenue optimization for JQH, where she was responsible for overseeing a team of area revenue managers for a group of hotels representing a range of brands within the company’s award-winning portfolio. Her experience also includes serving as a regional director of revenue management and an area revenue manager for JQH during her six years with the company. Prior to joining JQH, Torsleff was director of revenue management with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC. She also worked for Prism Hotels & Resorts, including in the roles of corporate director of revenue management and area director of sales. Torsleff received an Associate of Science in hotel & restaurant management and a Bachelor of Science in hospitality management from Johnson & Wales University, where she graduated summa cum laude. She is active in the community with an emphasis on supporting child-related causes.

“Jennifer leads by example. She is a committed and proven hospitality professional with a keen ability to cultivate the best in teams,” said Phill Burgess, JQH’s vice president of sales and revenue optimization. “We anticipate great things from Jennifer in her new role as senior director of revenue optimization.”

The Best New Hotels for Couples: Hot List 2016

After searching six continents and 36 countries, Traveler editors have narrowed down the list of hot new hotels to the three that will make honeymooners of us all. Book a weekend escape now to Cabo, Rome, or Palm Springs.

Courtesy Palazzo Dama

Palazzo Dama, Rome This former private villa not only has the fabulous location—steps from the Piazza del Popolo—but the rooftop patio, the pool (in Rome!), and the underground dance club filled with local PYTs. This place feels expensive, but actually isn’t. Best to opt for a room not facing the street, although are well sound-proofed with double-pane windows and all are decorated in calm, soothing tones quite different from the Rococo details of the communal areas. We particularly love the huge crystal chandelier in the basement gym, purportedly from The Plaza in New York (plus the complimentary in-room mini-bars including half bottles of champagne).

Even if you've stayed in your fair share of hotels, you might not have noticed something quite odd about them.

Apparently many hotels refuse to have a room number 420 - and they've come up with inventive ways to get around the issue.

Why? Well, the room 420 can encourage guests to partake in some naughty behaviour (more on that below) so hotel bosses would rather try to eliminate the problem than clean up after it.