5 things to know

1. Three special servicers are shopping more than USD 400 million of nonperforming hotel mortgages, according to a report in the Commercial Mortgage Alert.

Most of the loans are being supplied by LNR Partners with C-III Asset Management and J.E. Roberts Companies providing the rest. A two-day online auction will start 1 November, run by a partnership between Jones Lang LaSalle and REDC. Bidders can make offers on individual loans.

Among the largest loans in the offering is a USD 34-million mortgage on the full-service Courtyard by Marriott Lyndhurst Meadowlands in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. The 227-room hotel was built in 1990 and renovated in 2002. The average occupancy was listed at 66% in the most recent servicer report. The 10-year loan, originated by Citigroup, is scheduled to mature in September 2017. The unidentified sponsor began struggling with payments late last year and the loan turned delinquent in January.


2. Denver’s hotel market is on the fast track to recovery, according to a report from HotelNewsNow.com’s Patrick Mayock.

The city’s hotel industry posted positive year-over-year occupancy gains every month during 2010, averaging to a 9.4% increase to 62.9% through July 2010, according to data from STR. Revenue per available room has been less consistent, albeit generally positive; after a 4.6% decrease during January and another stutter during April, the market experienced year-over-year jumps of 18.8%, 19.1% and 15.6% during May, June and July, respectively. Through July 2010, RevPAR growth has averaged 8.3% to USD 58.80.

“Denver is the second fastest recovering RevPAR city (since April 2010 based on a trailing 12-month analysis),” said Orly Ripmaster of Boulder, Colorado-based STR Analytics. “In the short term, it’s doing very well.”


3. Just in time for next week’s South American Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference in Colombia, STR Global has an update on Brazil’s hotel landscape.

Brazil emerged relatively unscathed from the rigors of the global financial crisis. The same can be said for the country’s hotel industry, which coped better than surrounding regions during 2008/2009, according to data from STR Global, the leading provider of market data to the world’s hotel industry.

The country’s resiliency was in part because of a strong domestic market that was not adversely affected by moderate increases in average daily rate. However, more significant ADR hikes in United States dollars terms will undoubtedly influence arrivals from the U.S., which is Brazil’s second most important source market after neighboring Argentina.


4. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index remained stuck at 13 in September, unchanged from August. A reading of 50 or higher indicates more builders view conditions as good rather than poor.

"In general, builders haven't seen any reason for improved optimism in market conditions over the past month," NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, said in a news release. "If anything, consumer uncertainty has increased, and builders feel their hands are tied until potential home buyers feel more secure about the job market and economy."


5. The Four Seasons Hotel Dublin is for sale, according to RTE Business.

Designed as a landmark hotel, the Four Seasons had a difficult beginning. It opened half a year behind schedule because of construction delays, and the company building it went into receivership.

After a financial rescue package, it opened its doors in February 2001 and quickly became one of Dublin's most luxurious hotels, attracting celebrity guests such as Mariah Carey and Sheryl Crow.