The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index — comprising 20 of the largest hotel companies publicly traded on a U.S. stock exchange by market capitalization — was up 11.5% year to date as of Nov. 30. By comparison, the index finished 2020 down 13.2%.

Hard Rock International has agreed to buy the operations of the Mirage casino on the Las Vegas Strip from MGM Resorts International for nearly $1.1 billion with plans to build a giant guitar-shaped hotel on the glitzy boulevard.

Puerto Rico’s hotel occupancy during the first 10 months of the year increased to 63.2%, compared with 33.7% for the same period last year. That is barely down from 65.3% in the same period in 2019.

Through November, some $3.5 billion in appraised property value had been wiped off the books of hotels due to losses and impeded operations from the pandemic. Updated appraisals collectively equated to a 22% loss in the market value for those properties versus what was recorded prior to Covid-19.

President Biden will require travelers to the U.S. to provide a negative Covid test within a day of departure and will extend a mask mandate on airplanes and other public transportation beyond the planned January 18 expiration date.

Brands allowed owners to use their furniture, fixtures and equipment reserves for operating expenses during the pandemic and many hotels weren’t renovated before or during the pandemic. Now those hotels have experienced wear and tear from the increased leisure demand over the last 18 months and some owners do not have enough capital to invest in renovation upgrades.

Status matters to travelers. The usefulness of loyalty programs for many road warriors isn’t the free trips with accumulated miles or points. It’s the perks that come from qualifying for elite tiers: better seat selection, early boarding, free checked bags, upgrades, priority for rebooking and standby seats, special phone numbers and priority queues at airports.

The franchise companies leading the U.S. construction pipeline with the greatest number of new construction projects are Marriott International with 1,286 hotels and 166,174 rooms, Hilton with 1,223 hotels and 139,742 rooms, and IHG Hotels & Resorts with 769 hotels and 77,558 rooms. These three franchise companies comprise 68 percent of the total construction pipeline projects.

Sunstone Hotel Investors has agreed to pay about $175 million for the 85-room Four Seasons Napa hotel. The price tag amounts to about $2.1 million per hotel room key. When the Four Seasons sale closes, it will be the second highest valued U.S. hotel deal ever,

Highgate and Cerberus will acquire all outstanding shares of CorePoint common stock in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.5 billion based on the $15.65 per share consideration, which reflects the assumption of current net debt.