Dive Brief:

• LuxUrban Hotels Inc. signed a 25-year master lease agreement to operate the Condor Hotel in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn and a 15-year MLA to operate the Trinity Hotel in Los Angeles, the company announced Wednesday. 
• With the agreements, to come into effect on or around July 1, LuxUrban adds 214 units to its portfolio of short-stay hotel rooms.
• The two hotel deals are part of a larger growth outlook for LuxUrban at a time when travel demand for cities, particularly New York, increases.

Dive Insight:

The addition of the 35-room Condor Hotel and 179-room Trinity Hotel aligns with LuxUrban’s growth projections for the second quarter. The company expects to have 2,000 short-term rental hotel rooms under operation at the start of the third quarter of 2023, up from 1,034 on March 31 and 844 on Dec. 31, Brian Ferdinand, chairman and CEO of LuxUrban, said in a company release. 

According to Ferdinand, the Condor Hotel will “add greater density and diversity” to LuxUrban’s largest market, New York City. The deal comes at a time of “growth and recovery” for the city, which Ferdinand said is expected to welcome more than 60 million visitors in 2023 and approach pre-pandemic levels of tourism.

Fred Dixon, president and CEO of New York & Company, echoed similar growth outlooks at City Guide’s Annual Tourism Seminar in January, saying New York City can expect to see 61 million tourists this year, up from roughly 56 million tourists in 2022.

Once in operation, the Condor Hotel will be one of several hotels LuxUrban operates in the New York City market, including the 65-room hotel at 101 Bogart St. in the East Williamsburg-Bushwick neighborhood in Brooklyn. In February, LuxUrban signed a 10-year MLA to operate 101 Bogart, and operations commenced there earlier this month. 

LuxUrban plans to continue expanding in Brooklyn, as well as its other markets, Los Angeles, Miami, Denver, Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, the company’s Vice President of Operations, Brandon Elster, told Hotel Dive. He added that Boston is a new market LuxUrban is targeting, and there’s potential for expansion in San Diego or internationally, if the right deal comes along. 

Ferdinand said LuxUrban is in various stages of negotiation with the owners and operators of several “select, high-quality properties in new and existing markets,” and the company expects to announce additional closings soon. 

“Our previously announced debt extension and conversion agreements along with an improving cash flow outlook have positioned us to begin accelerating the pace at which we close these MLAs and commence operations at the associated properties,” Ferdinand added.