It was a week of high anxiety for U.S. hotel owners seeking financial relief from the federal government and the CMBS bond market. Hotel owners rushed applications to SBA-approved lenders to qualify for the agency’s Paycheck Protection Program. Some primary lenders such as JP Morgan cut off applications, saying they had met their quota as early as Monday. Meanwhile, hoteliers with CMBS loans were frustrated with attempts to seek relief, fearing a loss of capital reserves as well as triggering financial penalties and legal costs. In this update of Long Live Lodging’s special report on the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hotel industry, we feature owners and financing experts who are feeling the pain of an economic downturn of historical proportions.
Hotel appraisers and brokers expect distressed assets to come to market as the pandemic recession continues into 2021. Analysts say billions of dollars in private equity are waiting in the wings to acquire hotels underperforming as a result of the coronavirus crisis. But pricing will be different than in previous economic downturns. While a transaction may be distressed, it will not necessarily reflect distress pricing,” said Daniel Lesser of LW Hospitality Advisors. Long Live Lodging explores the state of hotel values as well as what may lie ahead with regard to transactions in 2021 as the spread of COVID-19 continues to stifle lodging performance. This report is part of our ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hospitality industry.
Global business travel is a $1.4 trillion industry. The Global Business Travel Association calculates the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 resulted in a loss of $113 billion in business travel spend in hotels, airlines and other sectors of the travel industry. But all is not lost. GBTA, industry analysts and travel management companies see some green shoots of hope for 2021 as the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out and corporations put some of their people on the road again. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hospitality industry.