The properties were all previously operated under various IHG flags. Three additional hotels in Canada and Puerto Rico will transition to Sonesta in mid-December and one hotel in Atlanta will continue to be managed by IHG.
SVC entered short-term agreements with Sonesta to manage the 99 hotels that expire on December 31, 2021. These 99 hotels are now operated under the Royal Sonesta, Sonesta and Sonesta ES Suites brands. Sonesta has also launched Sonesta Simply Suites, a new extended-stay hotel concept with 61 initial locations, making it “one of the largest US hotel brand launches in history”.
SVC owns a 34 per cent stake in Sonesta.
The three hotels scheduled to be transitioned to Sonesta in mid-December will enter similar management agreements with Sonesta and they will be operated under the Royal Sonesta and Sonesta ES Suites brands.
Carlos Flores, president and CEO of Sonesta International Hotels Corporation, said: “I am excited to have the opportunity to expand our national presence, including the addition of over a dozen new destinations, including our first locations in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Dallas, and Las Vegas. We are also entering the Canadian market for the first time with two Toronto hotels, and adding a resort in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The introduction of our new brand, Sonesta Simply Suites, will allow us to strengthen our foothold in the extended stay arena catering to travellers who require a modest longer-term option.”
John Murray, president and CEO of SVC, said: “We are excited to complete this milestone in transitioning 99 hotels to Sonesta and the launching of the Sonesta Simply Suites brand. We believe that as a 34 per cent owner of Sonesta, SVC will benefit from Sonesta’s growth as well as share in more of the upside from the recovery of these hotels. The rebranding of these hotels with Sonesta will also create greater flexibility for us in managing through these challenging market conditions, give us improved decision-making control over dispositions or alternative uses, and potentially have a positive impact on this portfolio’s performance in the future. For example, while all of our hotels have been significantly negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, year to date and for the third quarter of 2020, comparable hotel RevPAR performance at existing Sonesta managed hotels has been among the best performing of SVC’s hotel portfolios.”
