keith thompson

Things We Didn’t See Coming

H. Keith Thompson | March 2, 2021

By H. Keith Thompson The past year has been great for a few hotel segments and very difficult for many others. I have personally been through many cycles and this past year has been like no other. A shift has occurred that many people didn’t see coming and most certainly, I didn’t see coming. Given this, I thought I would list a few changes that have come out of the past year. - Old exterior corridor hotels are back in vogue. By their original construction design, they have built in social distancing. - The great relocation. Mass exodus from urban core centers. - Most all demand generators from 2019 have changed significantly and ma...

Avison Young Transaction Volume on the Rise

Avison Young | February 24, 2021

ATLANTA – February 24, 2021 – Avison Young Hospitality Group said today that their hotel transaction volume so far in 2021 has been good. The firm went on to say that out of 111 current engagements actively on the market, they have 52 under sale agreement. Keith Thompson said, “clearly, the hospitality real estate market is expecting that vaccines will aid the hotel and travel industry for 2021. Hotel performance this year is still projected to be well below 2019 levels but we are seeing RevPAR beginning to improve. The smart people in the room say 2021 revenue will end the year at 65%-70%+/- of 2019 levels....

Avison Young Announces Weekly Open Forum Results

Avison Young | October 27, 2020

ATLANTA – October 27, 2020 – Two weeks ago, Avison Young Hospitality Group launched a weekly virtual forum for every Monday at 2pm eastern time running through the end of the year. The main focus of the 45-minute virtual forum is to answer live questions from the participants who are private and public hotel investors, lenders, owners and operators. The hotel investment world has changed since COVID and we want to be a resource to the marketplace. Keith Thompson said, “This forum is not a sales pitch for our company. It is simply a resource. With hundreds already registered for each Monday, the questions and answers seem to be driven...

Optimism Versus Reality

H. Keith Thompson | June 1, 2020

By H. Keith Thompson I am, by my very nature, an optimist. I don’t think you can be a hotel broker and not be an optimist. Optimism is welcomed, wonderful, and useful, but there must be some reality woven in. Today there are 40+ million people unemployed in the US, and it is expected that the May 2020 unemployment rate will be 20+/-%. For the hospitality industry, COVID has caused performance to plummet to levels never seen before. While I am happy to see public companies rebounding in stock value, a close friend of mine asked me what I believe could be the best question. Why? With hotels especially, as well as office, multifamily,...

Post-COVID Brokers Opinion of Value

Avison Young | May 14, 2020

ATLANTA – May 14, 2020 – Avison Young Hospitality Group presents a new Post-COVID Brokers Opinion of Value Format. The hospitality industry has been shaken to its core over last several months by the Covid-19 pandemic and the global economic shutdown the virus has left in its wake. Markets across the country and the world have seen business grind to a halt, with hoteliers in every corner of the globe feeling immense economic pressure from the drastic loss in business. We at Avison Young understand the hotel owner’s need for a property specific presentation they can use for their partners, investors and lenders that demonstrates vi...

From Density to Distancing

H. Keith Thompson | May 12, 2020

By H. Keith Thompson, Principal Avison Young Hospitality Group Ten short weeks ago, business was about packing in as much density with as many people as possible. From hotels, conventions, sports venues, air travel, resorts, retail, and office buildings - down to going to a Costco. Now, ten weeks later, it is all about staying separate and distancing yourself from other people. How can this be possible? Because COVID-19 (‘CV”) has caused a shift in the paradigm of personal life and commercial life that no one saw coming. Ten weeks in, we now judge every face-to-face interaction differently than we used to. Behind closed doors, al...

The Real Effect of COVID-19

H. Keith Thompson | May 7, 2020

Public interviews versus private interviews By H. Keith Thompson, Principal Avison Young Hospitality Group Publicly accessible interviews seldom tell the real story. The real story is only garnered through private conversations that are kept confidential. The reason is simple; no CEO wants to discuss publicly the real time performance, cash position, losses and contingency plans inherent in their company’s strategy. They have peers, competitors, investors and lenders who simply do not want this level of confidential information available for public consumption. Their public message is one of hope and optimism, but more times than not ...