Atlas in the news

Montage, Ritz-Carlton Sale Scrapped DELAYED PORTFOLIO DEAL CANCELED By Katie Murar Monday, May 11, 2020 https://www.ocbj.com/news/2020/may/11/montage-ritz-carlton-sale-scrapped/ The blockbuster sale of two Orange County’s poshest resorts has been nixed, following months of delays and discord from both the buyer and seller. Korea’s Mirae Asset Financial Group said last week it is terminating its deal to buy a collection of 15 upscale hotels in the U.S. from Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance Group, claiming the seller had breached contract obligations. The portfolio includes the Montage Laguna Beach and Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel. Mirae accused Anbang of failing to “timely disclose and discharge various material encumbrances and liabilities impairing the hotels and failed to continue the operation of the hotels in accordance with contractual requirements,” said Mirae Asset, which said it is also seeking to recover its 10% deposit. The two OC resorts were initially expected to trade for at least a combined $900 million in a deal originally slated to close last month. A string of issues had put the deal in jeopardy over the course of 2020; local industry execs had been expecting the deal to fall apart. The portfolio sale, expected to have a total price tag in the $5.8 billion range, was,…

6 California resorts in limbo after Chinese deal to sell collapses China seized hotel owner Anbang two years ago The Orange County Register 05/05/20 6 California resorts in limbo after Chinese deal to sell collapses Who owns six of California’s fanciest resorts? According to numerous media reports, a $5.8 billion deal to sell 15 U.S. hotels has fizzled into litigation. That means ownership is in question for Montage Laguna Beach, Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, Loews Santa Monica, Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, Four Seasons Hotel in East Palo Alto and Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. The Chinese government has been trying to rid itself of hotels after it seized the financially ailing Anbang insurance empire two years ago. A deal to sell the 15 Anbang lodging assets to South Korea’s Mirae Asset Global Investments has collapsed. Mirae said Monday it terminated the deal, announced in September after Anbang breached its contractual obligations. In return, Anbang is suing Mirae in the United States, saying the termination was improper. Mirae “categorically denies Anbang’s claims,” the company replied. Anbang acquired the California luxury resorts in 2016 with its purchase of 15 hotels owned by Strategic Hotels & Resorts of Chicago. Anbang…

The Orange County Register 04/24/20 Irvine Co. Rethinks Hospitality Business, Temporarily Shuts 2 Orange County Hotels Hotel Irvine, Fashion Island Hotel temporarily closed. 1,076 jobs impacted. By Jonathan Lansner Irvine Co. rethinks hospitality business, temporarily shuts 2 Orange County hotels As coronavirus ravages the tourism business, the Irvine Co. will use the closure of two hotels to rethink its hospitality properties and how they operate. The 536-room Hotel Irvine and the 295-room Fashion Island Hotel in Newport Beach have temporarily shuttered, along with dozens of competitors across the nation as pandemic fears quickly shut down travel. The company recently filed a layoff warning notice with the state that said 1,076 workers would be affected. But in a letter to the community, the real estate giant said it wouldn’t simply be idling the hotels. Rather, some significant retooling may be in the works to meet what it sees will be changing needs of travelers in a post-pandemic world. “It is clear that the hotel industry will evolve into a new level of hotel guest expectations and service,” the company wrote of planning that “may include the repositioning and reimagining of our hotels with a focus on delivering a first-class clean, safe…

WCCO 04/12/20 Experts Share Predictions About When We Can Travel Again By Jacquie Cadorette https://wccoradio.radio.com/articles/radiocom/experts-share-predictions-about-when-we-can-travel-again With social distancing guidelines in effect well into May in some states, many are wondering when they might be able to travel again. Optimistic experts predict summertime travel while others are projecting the return of travel to hit in 2021. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said that summer travel “can be in the cards, and I say that with some caution.” While a drastic slow in the spread of infections could lead to safe traveling conditions, a spike in cases could change that projection for the worse. In a survey, most Americans have said they would return to air travel after four to six months while more than half have said they’d wait a year or more before going on a cruise again. In fact, the CDC has extended its no-sail ban and has not indicated when cruises might be able to set sail again, the Los Angeles Times reports. Roger Dow, chief executive of the U.S. Travel Assn. has said that travel will rebound, but generally, it won’t happen until next year. Meanwhile, Alan X….

The Real Deal 04/02/20 CA Hotel Industry Sees 3,600 Job Cuts Amid COVID-19 Crisis 3,600 workers laid off over 4-day period in March By Matthew Blake https://therealdeal.com/la/2020/04/02/expedited-layoffs-mean-thousands-of-hotel-job-cuts/ A little noticed executive order by CA Gov. Gavin Newsom has accelerated layoffs in the state’s hotel industry — with pink slips issued recently to nearly 3,600 workers in March. The job cuts, which for now are officially reported as temporary layoffs, are perhaps the most tangible sign yet of California’s hotel industry in freefall amid the coronavirus crisis. Newsom announced on March 17 a partial suspension of the state’s Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act, better known as the WARN law, which normally compels employers to give workers and the public 60-days notice before carrying out layoffs of 50 or more employees. Under the governor’s order, employers must still report mass layoffs to the state’s Employment Development Department. But companies can enact the layoffs immediately if the pink slips are the result of measures taken in response to the coronavirus, a new rule hotels were quick to utilize. “In my lifetime I have never seen damage as swift to the industry, plus with such an unknown end,” said Peter Hillan, spokesman for…