Source: Hotel News Now
By Danielle Hess
January 15, 2021
The hotel industry had a 10-year run of good performance before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which caused hoteliers to quickly rethink and adjust operating models, sources said.
During the “A view from the top, hospitality insights and strategies” webinar presented by HVS and The Lodging Conference, Justin Knight, president and CEO of Apple Hospitality REIT, said his team thought it was doing everything possible to manage margins at its properties and looking at the business holistically before the pandemic.
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Distressed assets
Biran Patel, chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, said the pandemic has “made everyone step their game up” in terms of making operations leaner.
Some AAHOA members thought the pandemic would lead to more hotels up for sale at a discount between 30% and 40%, but that hasn’t been the case.
Knight added that hoteliers have overestimated distressed assets that would come to market at steep discounts in every down cycle. While there aren’t many distressed assets up for grabs right now, there will be some going forward, he said.
“In the interim, there will be some help from the government. I anticipate there will be more of that, specifically helping some of the smaller ownership groups that otherwise would have an incredibly difficult time making it through this,” he said.
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