DESTINATION AND TOURISM,INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
Trip.com | November 14, 2022
Booking data from international one-stop travel service provider, Trip.com, shows how transatlantic travel has taken off in the last year.
In the year since the US re-opened its borders to international global travellers, Trip.com has seen a travel boom, when comparing booking stats from October 2021 to October 2022.
US hotel bookings made by British travellers have increased by 382% during the 12 months, while European hotel bookings by US travellers have increased by 111%.
Meanwhile, flight bookings from Europe to the US have increased by 67%, indicating the enduring appeal of the US, despite the pandemic, as well as revived demand for long-haul travel.
"The US has bounced back to resume its place as one of the most popular destinations for UK travellers according to analysis of Trip.com data"
-Andy Washington, Trip.com Group EMEA General Manager
Despite the drop in the value of the pound compared to the US dollar, America continues to attract Brits in large numbers eager to explore North America and reunite with friends and families.
Rich Sun, Trip.com Group General Manager for the Americas, said: "Americans have once again returned to Europe, as evidenced by Trip.com data which shows a 111% surge in European hotel bookings from the US.
European destinations have become attractive for US holidaymakers and business travellers looking to cash-in on favourable exchange rates.
In addition to the jump in flight bookings, the average booking value of flights from Europe to the US has increased by 20% since October 2021.
Regarding routes from Europe to the US, New York was a top-performing destination, with flights from London, Paris, Milan, Madrid, and Barcelona ranked as the top five, and Manchester-New York as the sixth most popular booked flight route between Europe and the US.
Over a third of travellers booking flights from Europe to the US came from the UK (39%), followed by Spain in second place (17%), Italy in third place (14%), followed in fourth place by France (12%) and Germany in fifth (11%).
The most popular US cities for European flyers were New York, followed by Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orlando.
On average, each month in the last year has seen an 18% rise in Brits booking US hotels.
New York was the most popular city for booking British travellers, followed by Las Vegas in second place, Los Angeles in third, Orlando in fourth and Miami in fifth position.
The average booking value of Americans on European hotels has increased by nearly a quarter (23%) in the last year.
The UK was the most popular European country for hotel and flight bookings by US travellers.
Paris was the most popular European destination for hotel bookings by US travellers, followed by London and Rome.
About Trip.com
Trip.com is an international one-stop travel service provider, available in 20 languages across 27 countries and regions in 31 local currencies and sites. Trip.com has an extensive hotel and flight network consisting of more than 1.2 million hotels and flights from over 480 airlines covering 2,600 airports in 200 countries and regions around the globe. Trip.com's world-class 24/7 multilingual customer service as well as additional centres in Edinburgh, Tokyo and Seoul, help to 'create the best travel experience' for its millions of customers worldwide. To book your next trip, visit trip.com
Read More
DESTINATION AND TOURISM
Taconic Capital Advisors LP and HEI Hotels & Resorts | December 05, 2022
Taconic Capital Advisors LP (“Taconic”) and HEI Hotels & Resorts (“HEI”), announced that they have jointly acquired Hyatt Regency Jersey City from affiliates of Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) and Veris Residential Inc. (NYSE: VRE). The property is a full-service, 351-key hotel located adjacent to Exchange Place situated on a pier extending over the Hudson River in Jersey City, NJ.In conjunction with the purchase, Taconic and HEI were successful in assuming a $100 million fixed-rate CMBS mortgage with ample remaining term. The hotel was completed in 2002 and more than $15 million in subsequent upgrades have been performed since 2010. Major enhancements to the guestrooms, food and beverage outlets and event spaces are expected to commence under the new ownership.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City occupies fee simple real estate with unmatched and undisturbed views of the Manhattan Skyline. The property features well-appointed guestrooms, a state-of-the-art gym and indoor heated pool, a restaurant and lounge and 20,000 square feet of meeting space that has long served as a popular venue for corporate retreats, weddings, and social gatherings. The hotel is centrally positioned amongst 28 million SF of office space within a one-mile radius and is conveniently located near world-famous attractions, including the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, One World Trade and the 9/11 Memorial.
“We are pleased to further our partnership with HEI and begin an exciting relationship with Hyatt. Hyatt Regency Jersey City was a compelling opportunity to acquire a world-class hotel with a strong segmentation mix and a diverse set of revenue contributors, The highly accretive assumable financing allowed us to continue our thesis for well-located urban, upscale hotels in an otherwise prohibitive financing environment.”
-Andrew Lam, a Director in Taconic Capital Advisors’ Commercial Real Estate Group
Hyatt Regency Jersey City is a wonderful property with a rich legacy that has greatly benefitted from Jersey City’s rapidly expanding corporate base as well as the revitalization of Hudson Yards and Lower Manhattan, said Clark Hanrattie, Partner at HEI. We are proud to team with Taconic on this important transaction and we are looking forward to making the hotel the very best it can be.
The joint acquisition of Hyatt Regency Jersey City follows Taconic and HEI’s March 2022 purchase of the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, NY, a 15-acre property that offers 444 guestrooms and 21 event rooms for a total of 26,700 SF of conference and meeting space, including a 9,000 SF ballroom. Over the past two years, Taconic has been involved in hotel transactions throughout the capital structure, spanning over 20 properties totaling more than 5,000 keys.
About Taconic Capital Advisors
Taconic Capital Advisors (“Taconic”) is a global institutional investment firm that pursues an event-driven, multi-strategy investment approach designed to generate strong, risk-adjusted returns over multiple market cycles. Taconic was founded in 1999 by former Goldman Sachs partners Frank Brosens and Ken Brody. The firm has approximately $8 billion of total assets under management with offices in New York, London and Hong Kong and more than 100 employees worldwide.
Taconic’s full-service commercial real estate platform invests in all asset classes and across the capital structure in both public and private markets. The strategy’s brand mandate offers flexibility to capitalize on shifting market opportunities, creating uncorrelated risk-adjusted return profiles for investors. Rooted in distressed and opportunistic investing, the team applies high-touch asset management capabilities to drive strong asset-level performance and capital market executions. Well-established relationships drive Taconic’s unique and diverse transaction sourcing channels which include local operating partners, investor partners, and a broad network of lenders, CMBC special servicers, trading desks, and brokerage houses.
Taconic’s series of closed-ended real estate funds are fully discretionary and have received over $1 billion in capital commitments. Investments to date across all Taconic funds total over $3 billion of gross asset value across approximately 175 distinct transactions.
About HEI Hotels & Resorts
Founded in 1985, HEI is an established expert on Luxury, Upper-Upscale, and Upscale hotels in Urban, Super-Suburban, and destination Resort locations across branded, soft-branded and independent lifestyle categories. The company’s portfolio currently includes 90-plus assets, representing more than 28,000 keys across approximately 30 different capital partners. HEI continues to be one of the most active investors in, and managers of, institutional-quality hotel assets across the US.
Read More
TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
Motivation Excellence | November 07, 2022
With the ever changing, and nightmarish, travel scene right now, having a personalized itinerary with up-to-date adjustments as needed in the palm of your hand is exciting! Group incentive travel programs operating through Motivation Excellence all include Inspire, our fully customizable and personalized mobile travel site.
Features of Inspire include:
company branding
personalized air, land and event itineraries
airline and customs information
text messaging alerts
interactive photo gallery
"This is something no other incentive company has at their disposal. The personalized itineraries is a game changer for our industry. Plus, we can customize the app in a number of ways to make it truly unique to our clients' needs and travel destination,"
-Brad Hecht, VP Travel at Motivation Excellence.
For a quick overview of Inspire please watch the video on our Motivation Excellence homepage.
Motivation Excellence is a performance improvement agency. We use a variety of award solutions to inspire extraordinary performance among our clients' participants. Through a deep dive into each client's particular situation, we develop a comprehensive plan to meet goals and drive peak ROI.
"I'm extremely confident Inspire adds incredible value to our travel programs. Our own people built it and it's already part of the travel solution; there's not an upcharge for this technology. This represents our commitment to our clients and their most deserving participants,"
-David Jobes, President and CEO of Motivation Excellence.
For more information, please contact our Strategic Marketing Manager, Sky Z. Capriolo at s.capriolo@motivationexcellence.com.
Read More