Atlas in the news

Los Angeles Times 08/10/16 Queen Mary Is Getting a Bow to Stern Makeover — and a Club in the Boiler Room By Andrew Khouri http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-queen-mary-renovations-20160808-snap-story.html   When Joshua Schwandt stayed at the Queen Mary several years ago, he loved the Art Deco woodwork and the way the Observation Bar oozed an old-timey feel. He wasn’t as ecstatic about his aging hotel room. The shower only drizzled water, and the bed felt like “one of those dorm room beds that have been slept on for 50 years,” he recalled… …Alan X. Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality Group, said existing hotels are increasingly renovating to remain competitive with new lodgings, which are under construction in Southern California at a record rate. “Hotels that do not renovate or update are going to have a really hard time in the next three to five years,” he said. In Urban Commons’ case, “they are [creating] the cruise ship experience without having to sail around down to Mexico,” Reay said. “That will definitely allow them to push rates — no question.”

KEYT – KCOY – KKFX 08/08/16 Hotel Boom Expected to Increase Employment in the Central Coast By Amanda Valdes http://www.keyt.com/news/hotel-boom-expected-to-increase-employment-in-the-central-coast/41107078   LOMPOC, Calif. – Construction at the Hilton Garden Inn in Lompoc is in full swing. “Lompoc hasn’t seen a hotel development in over 30 years this is the first hotel being build since the 80’s,” says Gilda Cordova, Lompoc Land Holdings. For people driving by they can see the beams are up and so is the wooden frame outlining where each room will be. “There’s a need in the market to have something newer, fresher, to service full service guests and people coming in with tourism,” says Cordova. She says the hotel will also bring more jobs to Lompoc. A total of 120 to 125 jobs are expected once the project is complete. “It’s a great opportunity to go out into the community and reach those people looking for a job,” says Cordova. We have the highest unemployment in the county and to bring 100-125 jobs to Lompoc is tremendous,” says Ken Ostini, CEO and President of the Lompoc Chamber of Commerce. However, construction is not only happening in Lompoc. There is also a Hilton Garden Inn being built…

GlobeSt.com 08/08/16 Foreign Interest in SoCal Hotels Drives Up Values By Carrie Rossenfeld http://www.globest.com/sites/carrierossenfeld/2016/08/08/foreign-interest-in-socal-hotels-drives-up-values SAN DIEGO—Hotels in Downtown L.A., Orange County and San Diego have attracted a lot of interest from overseas investors, creating upward pressure on land values and new hotel development in these markets, Atlas Hospitality Group’s president Alan Reay tells GlobeSt.com. The firm recently released its 2016 mid-year California hotel-development survey. We chatted exclusively with Reay about the survey’s findings and trends in various Southern California hotel markets. GlobeSt.com: What are the most interesting trends happening in the hotel sector in each of the following markets: L.A., Orange County and San Diego? Reay: All three markets have enjoyed incredible price appreciation over the last five years, so much so that existing older hotels are selling at prices above replacement cost, which has created a huge amount of interest in new hotel construction. In addition, Downtown Los Angeles and now certain parts of Orange County and San Diego County have attracted a lot of interest from overseas investors, in particular from mainland China, which has created upward pressure on land values for new hotel development in these markets. We are also seeing a number of new trends and…

The Real Deal 08/05/16 Could California Have Too Many Hotels in the Works? By Cathaleen Chen http://therealdeal.com/la/2016/08/05/could-california-have-too-many-hotels-in-the-works/ California developers may be overdoing hotel construction. More than 17,000 hotels rooms are under construction in California, nearly 40 percent of which are in Los Angeles County, according to a new report by Atlas Hospitality Group cited by the L.A. Times. The volume of hotel projects has some experts wondering if supply will begin to outpace demand. Developers rushed into L.A.’s hotel market en masse over the past few years, enticed by high occupancy rates and revenue and room rates that had surpassed pre-recession levels. But too many may have had the same idea at once, Atlas President Alan Reay told the Times. Of the 563 hotels in the planning stages statewide, he expects only 20 percent will ultimately get built. In L.A. county alone, 6,772 rooms and 37 hotels are under construction. “If we look back in history, we can see we’ve gone through a number of booms and busts where we’ve added too many rooms,” Reay said.

The San Diego Union-Tribune 08/04/16 Hotel Development Booming in California By Lori Weisberg http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/aug/04/california-san-diego-in-hotel-building-boom/   California, like the rest of the country, is in the midst of a hotel building boom, with more than 17,000 rooms under construction and 84,000 more in the pipeline. The surge in development, following a years-long drought in new hotels, is captured in a mid-year report released by Orange County-based Atlas Hospitality Group, which tracks the hotel real estate sector…  

Bisnow 08/02/16 San Diego County Adds 1,017 Hotel Rooms in 2016 and More Are Coming By Patricia Kirk https://www.bisnow.com/san-diego/news/hotel/san-diego-county-adds-1017-hotel-rooms-in-2016-and-more-coming-63498   San Diego County added six new hotels with 1,017 rooms in 2016, according to a new report from Irvine, CA-based Atlas Hospitality Group. The largest new San Diego hotel opening so far this year was the dual-branded 253-room SpringHill Suites and 147-room Residence Inn San Diego Downtown/Bayfront, at 900 Bayfront Court. There are four hotel projects with 957 rooms under construction throughout San Diego County, the largest of which is the 400-room InterContinental San Diego Lane Field in Downtown SD. The county also has 52 hotels with 10,439 rooms in the pipeline, noted the report. Overall, California has 17,236 rooms under construction, accounting for 10.5% of the 164,860 rooms in 1,259 projects under construction nationwide. This includes 37 hotels with 6,772 rooms in Los Angeles County, 12 hotels with 2,089 rooms in Orange County, and eight hotels with 1,536 rooms in the Inland Empire (San Bernardino and Riverside counties). The Golden State has a record 563 new hotels with 84,231 rooms in the pipeline, of which 37,343 are in SoCal.

San Diego Business Journal 07/28/16 Hotel Boom Propels Variety of Projects By Lou Hirsh http://www.sdbj.com/news/2016/jul/28/hotel-boom-propels-variety-projects/   San Diego — Developers of Pendry San Diego, a new $100 million luxury hotel set to open this November in the Gaslamp Quarter, say they’re not worried that other posh competitors have also set their sights on downtown San Diego. Co-developers Alan Fuerstman, CEO of Irvine-headquartered Montage Hotels & Resorts, and Robert Green of Encinitas maintain their 317-room hotel — with several public venues including an upscale, seafood-oriented restaurant and bar called Lionfish — will draw a steady crowd of visitors and locals to the vibrant Gaslamp neighborhood. “We think there’s a big market out there for projects where design meets service meets hospitality,” said Alan’s son Michael Fuerstman, co-founder of Montage Hotels and creative director for the new Pendry brand, during a recent preview for the hotel. Operators will eventually be up against a 400-room luxury InterContinental Hotel, whose developers recently started construction at the downtown waterfront site of the former Lane Field ballpark; and a 153-room Ritz-Carlton being planned for a mixed-use development in the works in nearby East Village, just a few blocks from the new Pendry. Not Just Luxury Brands…

Bisnow 08/01/16 OC Adds Most Hotel Rooms By Karen Jordan https://www.bisnow.com/orange-county/news/hotel/oc-adds-highest-number-of-hotel-rooms-63367   Good news for the OC: during the first six months of this year, the county added more hotel rooms than any other county in California. Orange County added 1,100 hotel rooms from January through last month, according to a recent mid-year survey by Irvine’s Atlas Hospitality Group. While 8,500 more hotel rooms are under construction or planned, other counties rank higher when it comes to delivering new hotel rooms, the Orange County Business Journal reports. Compared to Orange County, LA County opened only 326 hotel rooms in the first six months of 2016. However, in LA, almost 26,600 rooms are planned or under construction.

Orange County Register 07/29/16 Is O.C. Building Too Many Hotels? 5 Things to Know By Jonathan Lansner http://www.ocregister.com/articles/hotels-724068-hotel-room.html   Orange County hotels: Too much new stuff? A hotel building boom is underway, but that development raises questions as to whether there’s enough tourism business to keep local hotels profitable. Here are questions to ponder: 1. How much is being built? Orange County added more new rooms in 2016’s first half than any other California market, says a new report from the hotel trackers at Atlas Hospitality Group in Irvine. Orange County has 1,078 new rooms at four hotels: the 603-room Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove; 250-room Pasea Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach; 129-room Homewood Suites in Aliso Viejo; and the 96-room Holiday Inn Express in Anaheim. That’s not all. Atlas says Orange County has 12 hotels with 2,089 rooms under construction, topped by the 274-room Residence Inn in Anaheim. Plus, Orange County has 31 hotels with 6,385 rooms in planning. 2. Is that odd? Orange County isn’t unique. A hot tourism market has lured numerous developers into hotel building. Nationwide, 1,259 hotel projects are underway, representing a year-over-year increase of 27 percent in the number of new rooms…

Los Angeles Business Journal 07/29/16 Convention Center Demand Sparks Plans for 1,100-Room Hotel By Daina Beth Solomon http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2016/jul/29/convention-center-demand-sparks-plans-1100-room-ho/   Lightstone Group is moving forward with plans to build a $450 million hotel with 1,100 rooms across from the Convention Center. The New York developer recently submitted its application to city planners for a Gensler-designed project of two towers, one of 40 stories and the other of 28, which would be run by three hotel brands. Dubbed Fig+Pico for its spot on the corner of Figueroa Street and Pico Boulevard, the hotel is slated to include six levels of parking, 20,000 square feet of retail, three pools, bars, and restaurants. “We think there is a great demand for hotel rooms downtown today,” said Mitchell Hochberg, president of Lightstone. “When the Convention Center expansion is finally built, that demand will increase.” L.A. city officials began working on Convention Center expansion plans last year after learning that downtown would not become home to a new football stadium. Officials last summer selected architects to design increased meeting and exhibition space and add a 1,000-room hotel at a cost of $470 million. Then, early this year, the city began considering a new proposal that would…