Service Properties Trust is to transfer the branding and management of 103 hotels to Sonesta International Hotels Corporation.
SVC sent notices of termination to IHG for failure to pay SVC’s minimum returns and rents due for July and August 2020 totalling $26.4m, giving until 24 August pay.
SVC said that it had not received payment and did not expect to. The group first announced plans to rebrand in July.
John Murray, president & CEO, SVC, said: “SVC and IHG have had a long relationship which began in 2003, but we were unable to reach a mutually agreeable resolution to the defaults by IHG under our management agreements with them. Therefore, after a period of negotiation with IHG, we determined to terminate IHG and rebrand these hotels with Sonesta. Based on historical experience, we believe the current portfolio of 103 hotels may perform as well, or better, as Sonesta hotels post-conversion and once stabilized in their respective markets.
“Sonesta currently manages 16 hotels for us that were rebranded from IHG in 2012, and total annual revenue and hotel EBITDA at these 16 hotels improved 14.4% and 10.3%, respectively, post-conversion and once stabilised.
“In addition to Sonesta possibly having a positive impact on these hotels’ performance in the future, we own approximately 34% of Sonesta and we will therefore indirectly share in any benefit of these new management agreements by Sonesta in the future. We also believe having these 103 hotels operated by Sonesta provides us with greater flexibility in managing our business through the current challenging market conditions. For example, we expect that some of the transitioned hotels may be repurposed to an alternative use or sold in the future.”