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New
York, NY – February 2024 / NewsmakerAlert: LuxUrban
Hotels Inc. (“LuxUrban” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: LUXH), which utilizes
an asset-light business model to lease entire hotels on a long-term basis
and rent out hotel rooms in these properties in key major metropolitan
cities, announces that it has signed and funded a 15-year Master Lease
Agreement (MLA), plus two, five-year options, to operate The
James NoMad Hotel in New York City. LuxUrban expects that The James
will be rebranded as The J Hotel by LuxUrban, a Wyndham Grand® Hotel.
The Company expects to take possession of the property and begin welcoming
guests on or before March 1, 2024.
Boasting
an exceptional Beaux-Arts style exterior, the James NoMad is a New York
City landmark. This 353-room property – which carries a rating of 4.5 on
Tripadvisor® - is conveniently located in midtown Manhattan and just
a short walk from the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden and
Grand Central Station. Eclectic, post-modern touches define the lobby and
works from local artists adorn the walls. The hotel, designed by renowned
architect Thomas Juul-Hansen, has been described as an “urban sanctuary.”
Guests
can enjoy renowned indoor/outdoor Italian dining at Scarpetta – which has
received a James Beard nomination for ‘Best New Restaurant in America’
as well as a coveted three-star review from the New York Times – and relax
at The Seville, the hotel’s throwback, speak-easy style cocktail lounge.
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Location:
22 East 29th Street, New York City
(view
photo gallery)
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“The
J Hotel will mark LuxUrban’s 13th hotel under long-term lease in our core
market of New York City and expand our range of offerings to business and
leisure travelers,” said Brian
Ferdinand, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of LuxUrban Hotels.
“I want to thank GFI Hospitality, an affiliate of GFI Capital Resources
Group, for its support, professionalism, and vision in consummating this
transaction. GFI Hospitality has completed over $4 billion in hotel transactions
and created some of the world’s most iconic lifestyle hotels – including
the Beekman, a Thompson Hotel, The Thompson Central Park, Ace New York,
Ace Brooklyn, Ace Palm Springs, and the James NoMad. We look forward to
our continued collaboration.”
Allen
Gross, CEO of GFI, said, “GFI looks forward to collaborating with LuxUrban
on additional transactions. In our view, LuxUrban’s unique MLA model coupled
with its’ partnership with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, which boasts the
largest rewards program in the world, has positioned the Company for great
success. As a developer and owner of over $4 billion of hospitality assets,
we are very excited to be working with LuxUrban.”
Mr.
Ferdinand concluded, “By acquiring the long-term operating rights to select
hotels, LuxUrban allows owners and operators to retain ownership of their
properties while unlocking the full commercial potential of each asset.
We believe that this transaction reflects the growing industry acceptance
of our evolving asset-light business model and the inherent, value-driving
benefits of our collaboration with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. I want
to thank Wyndham for its support in connection with our largest hotel transaction
to date. As our business continues to mature, the size and quality of the
hotels we are targeting are expected to continue to improve, as will our
ability to be selective in the assets we acquire under long-term MLA. Some
of the hotels we are currently considering include food and beverage options,
as well as meetings and entertainment venues. These are welcome amenities
for our guests, although they would be owned and operated by an outside
party given our focus on turnkey hotel properties with minimal cap-ex requirements.
“Having
added our first hotel to the Wyndham platform in late Q3 (September) 2023
and completing the portfolio integration in Q4 2023, we are seeing an increasing
percentage of Wyndham direct sales which are expected to reduce our dependency
on comparatively lower margin third-party OTAs. We expect to realize scale-driven
cost efficiencies more fully as we build property density in our existing
cities.”
Shanoop
Kothari Co-CEO & CFO Joins Atlanta Fed’s Business Inflation Expectations
Panel
The
Company also announced that Shanoop
Kothari, LuxUrban’s President, Co-Chief Executive Officer, and Chief
Financial Officer has accepted an invitation to join the Atlanta Fed’s
Business Inflation Expectations Panel. The only panel of its kind, the
Business Inflation Expectations Panel explores the expectations of business
leaders regarding changes in their level of inflation with relation to
sales revenue and growth a year ahead of time. The Company believes the
size and footprint of its hotel portfolio and the expected growth of its
operations provide an informed basis to provide insight on the impact of
inflation on hotel operations nationwide.
Throughout
his more than 25-year career, Mr. Kothari has held positions of increasing
responsibility in the areas of accounting, corporate finance, executive
management, and capital markets. A Certified Public Accountant and Certified
Internal Auditor, as well as holding Series 7 / 24 / 63 licenses, Mr. Kothari
began his career at Price Waterhouse as a senior auditor. His experience
as CFO includes BindView Development Corporation, a publicly traded software
company that was acquired by Symantec Corporation, and for a private oil
and gas refinery joint venture with HollyFrontier. Mr. Kothari spent a
total of 12 years as an investment banker with Credit Suisse and FBR. Mr.
Kothari received a BA in Accounting from Southern Methodist University,
cum laude, and an MBA from Rice University, where he was Jones Scholar.
LuxUrban
Hotels Inc.
LuxUrban
Hotels Inc. utilizes an asset light business model to secure the long-term
operating rights for entire hotels through Master Lease Agreements (MLA)
and rents out, on a short-term basis, hotel rooms to business and vacation
travelers. The Company is aggressively building a portfolio of hotel properties
in destination cities by capitalizing on the dislocation in commercial
real estate markets and the large amount of debt maturity obligations on
those assets coming due with a lack of available options for owners of
those assets. LuxUrban’s MLA allows owners to hold onto their assets and
retain their equity value while LuxUrban operates and owns the cash flow
operating business for the life of the MLA. In partnership with Wyndham
Hotels and Resorts, the largest hotel company in the world by rooms, LuxUrban
gains several competitive advantages including joint branding for marketing,
sales, and distribution, capital allocation from Wyndham for each hotel
it acquires, and ongoing customer support and training across its portfolio.
Visit www.LuxUrbanHotels.com
for more information.
Forward
Looking Statements
This
press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (set forth
in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). The statements contained
in this release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements
regarding expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding
the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts
or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including
any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. Generally,
the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “continues,” “could,” “estimates,”
“expects,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plans,” “possible,” “potential,”
“predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify
forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean
that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in
this release may include, for example, statements with respect to the success
of the Company’s collaboration with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, scheduled
property openings, expected closing of noted lease transactions, the Company’s
ability to continue closing on additional leases for properties in the
Company’s pipeline, as well the Company’s anticipated ability to commercialize
efficiently and profitably the properties it leases and will lease in the
future. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based
on current expectations and belief concerning future developments and their
potential effect on the Company. There can be no assurance that future
developments will be those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which
are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results
of performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied
by these forward-looking statements, including those set forth under the
caption “Risk Factors” in our public filings with the SEC, including in
Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2022, and any updates to those factors as set forth in subsequent Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q or other public filings with the SEC. The forward-looking
information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release
are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not
undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking
statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance
with applicable securities laws.
Contacts:
LuxUrban
Hotels Inc.
Shanoop
Kothari
President
& CFO
LinkedIn
The
Equity Group Inc.
Devin
Sullivan
Managing
Director
212-836-9608
LinkedIn |