Ed Brock is an award-winning journalist who has worked for various U.S. newspapers and magazines, including with American City & County magazine, a national publication based in Atlanta focused on city and county government issues. He is currently assistant editor at Asian Hospitality magazine, the top U.S. publication for Asian American hoteliers. Originally from Mobile, Alabama, Ed began his career in journalism in the early 1990s as a reporter for a chain of weekly newspapers in Baldwin County, Alabama. After a stint teaching English in Japan, Ed returned to the U.S. and moved to the Atlanta area where he returned to journalism, coming to work at Asian Hospitality in 2016.
OWNERS OF ECONOMY brand hotels may not always think about improving the appeal of their properties, and up until now their options for interior design have been limited. Alpa Patel discovered those limitations and four years ago it inspired her to do something about it.
She has created a company, Spaceez, that offers affordable design work to those owners to give them the option of upgrading their hotels into boutiques, allowing them to charge higher rates accordingly. Her inspiration comes from her efforts to help improve her parents’ Super 8 hotel where she grew up in Arlington, Texas.
“My dad was going to refresh the property because he hadn't touched it in a decade. I said Dad, do something nice with the lobby. He was just going to do the rooms,” Patel said. “The lobbies, it's a public space and people come if it looks nice photographs, nice. You could charge higher rates.”
She tried to find a designer for the job, but could not.
Spaceez uses a team of designers in India, trained to U.S. standards, along with a junior designer stateside to create affordable designs, company founder Alpa Patel said.
“I couldn't find an affordable designer that would want to take on a small lobby project for a Super Eight,” she said. “Then I realized that half the hotels in America are economy and they don't have access to design. I found out that close to 450,000 hotels in America and around the world don't have access to design. I saw that as a big opportunity to use technology to do it in a scalable fashion and help these owners in my community.”
She raised $150,000 from Lawrence Armstrong, the then CEO of design firm, Ware Malcomb and began Spaceez in 2018. Now, her mission is to help other economy hotel owners realize their properties’ potential.
Realizing their potential
“[Some owners] have no idea how valuable their properties could be if they reposition them as boutique hotels, because people are dropping three to $500 on some locations,” Patel said.
As an example, Patel points to two women she interviewed for a free lance article she wrote who owned a small hotel in a wine region near Toronto, Canada.
“They took a 16-room motel, open six months out of the year and they turned it, with a small budget, into this hip, cool little boutique hotel. And guess how much they charge, $350 a night,” she said. “These girls have shown us that an old, dingy motel can be turned around and be selling for $400 a night with a two-night minimum in a nice leisure market.”
It’s particularly important to Patel that she bring her knowledge of design to the rest of the Asian American hotelier community.
“This community of Patel owners, they're all over the country, in good markets, not so good markets, great markets,” she said. “The Gujarati community, they drag their feet when it comes to renovation, but [in one hotel] I put up $400 and refreshed the artwork, the amenities and the bed. And I was able to raise the rate 20 percent and spent $400 in the rooms.”
Keeping it affordable
One key to Spaceez’s success in that mission is to keep its work affordable. One way she does that is to keep her labor costs down.
“We have a team in India. We have a junior designer here who gets all the requirements, but all the actual design work happens in India,” she said. “We train them to the U.S. standards, the U.S. requirements. We can make it affordable because with [design] firms here, you can't afford design for an economy motel. They won't even talk to you.”
A before and after comparison of a complementary design rendering by Alpa Patel’s Spaceez. Owners can request the complementary rendering on Spaceez’s website, and Patel said 50 to 60 percent of the recipients engage the company for more work.
Patel said she has served more than 30 clients since founding Spaceez. Lately she has been providing complementary design renderings to attract new business. She’s completed about 80 in the last two months, with 50 to 60 percent of the recipients engaging the company for more work. The complementary renderings can be requested on the Spaceez website.
“I'll give them the rendering and then the design for $1,200. It's a small bite of the apple. Improve the exterior and it makes a big impact, and you get excited, now you're going to do more,” she said. “And you're going to grow the rates easily because when you have a nice looking property from the outside, and you take a picture and you put it online, people will go ‘Oh, that's a cool mural. That's a hip cool place, we should go check it out.”
Spaceez offers a set of standard designs or bespoke ideas, but Patel said her customers are happy with either.
“They love our prototype design because it's boutique. It's not cookie cutter. You change the colors, the finishes, the fabric, it's like a different room,” she said. “See we don't make you buy the same artwork for every single hotel. If you're in the wine country, put wine inspired artwork. If you're in the national parks, put the mountain that inspired. If you're in coastal make it coastal inspired, but still within the brand guidelines. Everybody's trying to go more boutique now. Everybody's trying to push their soft brands now because that's what the market wants.”
Her designs work with brand standards, Patel said, because the brands are more concerned with rooms and Spaceez designs are for common spaces. Also, large companies such as Sonesta, which now owns Red Lion Hotels, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and Best Western are focusing on boutique soft brands.
“Brands love us,” Patel said.
Bringing out the hidden boutique
Patel said the design she provides to each hotel depends on the property’s surroundings, but there are some commonalities as well. For example, she focuses on making use of F&B options and elements such as outdoor firepits to create a space guests will enjoy.
“When we do the independents, we try to put in a lobby bar. Turn the registration counter into a little bar. And if it's a small lobby, just serve canned beer, and wine, or just sell beer and wine is a source of revenue,” Patel said. “If you have a patio outside, you can put music out there and people will go hang out there and drink, maybe they can order Uber Eats.”
Instead of coffee makers and microwaves in the rooms, Patel recommends just serving very good coffee in the lobby so guests can mingle. It’s new ideas she offers, and they find more acceptance among the younger hotel owners.
An example of an America’s Best Value Inn lobby design by Spaceez.
“My community needs some educating on how to do all of this stuff,” she said. “The second-generation hoteliers are the ones that are coming to me.”
For example, recently she received a call from an owner who was taking over his parents’ hotel, a Days Inn, in Texas.
“The guy's like yeah, my parents are running it and I'm taking over but I don't want to run this Days Inn like this. I want it to be cool and nice and hip,” she said. “I went there to help him get good ideas on the exterior. He has a massive, massive outdoor pool, patio area. So, I said put your money here and keep the Days Inn prototype, I’ll still increase your rates. I'll give it a boutique look even with the Days Inn prototype room package.”
Finding the beach element
Another one of Spaceez’s customers, Hiren Patel in Belmont Shore, California, brought an extensive project to the company two years ago. He needed to breathe new life into his independent property, the Belmont Shore Inn.
Hiren Patel in Belmont Shore, California, commissioned Spaceez two years ago to breathe new life into his independent property, the Belmont Shore Inn.
“When we took over the hotel, it was really rundown. We tried to run the place as is, in the condition that we got it, but it was too bad for us to run the way we wanted,” Hiren said. “We had a vision to remodel it, but we didn't have a direction on how to proceed and how to incorporate the beach elements in the hotel. Then I got in contact with Alpa and then she found a designer to match the location.”
Now the work is mostly done at the 14-room hotel near Long Beach using a designer from Malibu. Some outdoor elements remain, Hiren said, such as a gate for security reasons.
“I think we came out with flying colors. The numbers that we saw were very good. And we almost tripled our business,” Hiren said. “Even during the pandemic we still did 50 percent occupancy.”
Operating from a place of abundance
March is Women’s History Month, and Alpa said women in the hospitality industry, such as her, offer a unique perspective to the male dominated business. As an example, she pointed to her participation in a business accelerator program sponsored by a larger design firm, AvroKO, that was organized by one of the company’s founding partners, Kristina O’Neal.
“Can you imagine, a design firm taking another design firm in,” Alpa said. “This woman didn't see me as a competitor because we operate from a place of abundance. There's plenty to go around. We don't have to operate from scarcity. And women can more easily tap into that, I think.”
Women are definitely making major strides and making the industry better, she said.
“But maybe 10 percent or less ownership of hotels is by women,” she said. “We need a big push for women to go into ownership.”
The Trump administration says it is reviewing more than 55 million visa holders.
Reviews cover a wide range of visas for law enforcement and overstay violations.
The administration also suspended worker visas for foreign commercial truck drivers.
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION is reviewing more than 55 million people who hold valid U.S. visas for potential violations. It is expanding a policy of “continuous vetting” that could result in revocation and deportation.
The State Department confirmed all visa holders are subject to ongoing review, which includes checking for overstays, criminal activity, threats to public safety or ties to terrorism. Should violations be found, visas may be revoked, and holders in the U.S. could face deportation, according to the Associated Press.
Officials said the reviews will include monitoring of visa holders’ social media accounts, law enforcement records and immigration files. New rules also require applicants to disable privacy settings on phones and apps during interviews. The department noted visa revocations since President Trump’s return to office have more than doubled compared to the previous year, including nearly four times as many student visas.
The administration also announced an immediate halt on issuing worker visas for foreign commercial truck drivers, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio citing road safety and competition concerns for U.S. truckers.
“The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” Rubio posted on X.
The Transportation Department linked the move to recent enforcement of English-language proficiency requirements for truckers, aimed at improving safety. The State Department later said it was pausing visa processing while it reviewed screening protocols.
Critics, including Edward Alden of the Council on Foreign Relations, warned the actions could have significant economic consequences.
“The goal here is not to target specific classes of workers, but to send the message to American employers that they are at risk if they are employing foreign workers,” Alden wrote, according to AP.
Data from the Department of Homeland Security shows there are 12.8 million green card holders and 3.6 million temporary visa holders in the United States. The 55 million figure under review includes many outside the U.S. with valid multiple-entry tourist visas.
Earlier this week, the State Department reported revoking more than 6,000 student visas for violations since Trump returned to office, including around 200 to 300 for terrorism-related issues.
The vast majority of foreign visitors require visas to enter the U.S., with exceptions granted to citizens of 40 countries under the Visa Waiver Program, primarily in Europe and Asia. Citizens of China, India, Russia and most of Africa remain subject to visa requirements.
A $250 Visa Integrity Fee in President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill drew criticism from groups that rely on seasonal workers from Latin America and Asia on J-1 and other visas.
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Peachtree Group originated a $176.5 million retroactive CPACE loan for a Las Vegas property.
The deal closed in under 60 days and ranks among the largest CPACE financings in the U.S.
The company promotes retroactive CPACE funding for commercial real estate development.
PEACHTREE GROUP ORIGINATED a $176.5 million retroactive Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy loan for Dreamscape Cos.’s Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The deal, completed in under 60 days, is its largest credit transaction and one of the largest CPACE financings in the U.S.
The 2,520-room Rio, now under the Destinations by Hyatt brand, was renovated in 2024 and comprises two hotel towers connected by a casino, restaurants and retail, Peachtree said in a statement.
“This transaction is a milestone for Peachtree Group and a testament to the ecosystem we have built over the past 18 years,” said Greg Friedman, Peachtree's managing principal and CEO. “Through our vertically integrated platform, deep expertise and disciplined approach, we have developed the infrastructure to be a leader in private credit. Our ability to deliver speed, creativity and certainty of execution positions us to provide capital solutions that create value for our investors and partners across market cycles.”
Atlanta-based Peachtree is led by Friedman; Jatin Desai as managing principal and CFO and Mitul Patel as principal.
The CPACE loan retroactively funded the renovations, allowing the owners to pay down their senior loan, the statement said. The property improvement plan included exterior work, upgrades to the central heating and cooling plant, electrical infrastructure improvements and convention center renovations.
Jared Schlosser, Peachtree’s head of originations and CPACE, said the deal marks an inflection point, with major financial institutions consenting to its use for the benefit of the capital stack.
“By closing quickly on a marquee hospitality asset, we were able to strengthen the position of both the owner and its lenders,” he said.
The CPACE market has surpassed $10 billion in U.S. originations in just over a decade, according to the C-PACE Alliance, with growth expected as more institutional owners and lenders adopt it.
“We see significant opportunity for retroactive CPACE and its use in funding new commercial real estate development,” Schlosser said. “It is an alternative to more expensive forms of capital.”
In June, Peachtree named Schlosser head of originations for all real estate and hotel lending and leader of its CPACE program. Peachtree recently launched a $250 million fund to invest in hotel and commercial real estate assets mispriced by capital market illiquidity.
Spark acquired the 120-key Home2 Suites by Hilton Wayne in Wayne, New Jersey.
Hunter Hotel Advisors facilitated the transaction with DC Hospitality Group affiliates.
The 2020-built hotel is near William Paterson University and less than 20 miles from Manhattan.
SPARK GHC RECENTLY acquired the 120-key Home2 Suites by Hilton Wayne in Wayne, New Jersey, from affiliates of DC Hospitality Group. Hunter Hotel Advisors facilitated the deal for an undisclosed amount.
The 2020-built hotel is less than 20 miles from Manhattan in a commercial corridor with major employers including Driscoll Foods, FedEx Group, Advanced Biotech, St. Joseph’s Wayne Hospital, and the Passaic County Administration, Hunter said in a statement. William Paterson University, Willowbrook Mall, and MetLife Stadium are also nearby.
It features an on-site fitness center, business center and indoor pool.
“The Home2 Suites by Hilton Wayne represents the type of asset we target,” said Patel. “Its proximity to major corporate demand generators, higher education institutions, and retail and entertainment venues supports strong performance.”
Hunter’s senior vice presidents, David Perrin and Spencer Davidson, brokered the transaction.
Patel said this is their second transaction with Hunter and praised the process and partnership.
“We look forward to building on the hotel’s recent performance and continuing to deliver guest experiences in the Greater New York City community,” he said.
Northstar Hotels Management recently acquired a 78-key Residence Inn and an 81-key Courtyard near the Jacksonville, Florida, airport.
Global pipeline hit a record 15,871 projects with 2.4 million rooms in Q2.
The U.S. leads with 6,280 projects; Dallas tops cities with 199.
Nearly 2,900 hotels are expected to open worldwide by the end of 2025.
THE GLOBAL HOTEL pipeline reached 15,871 projects, up 3 percent year-over-year, and 2,436,225 rooms, up 2 percent, according to Lodging Econometrics. Most were upper midscale and upscale, LE reported.
The U.S. leads with 6,280 projects and 737,036 rooms, 40 percent of the global total. Dallas leads cities with 199 projects and 24,497 rooms, the highest on record.
LE’s Q2 2025 Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report showed 6,257 projects with 1,086,245 rooms under construction worldwide, unchanged in project count and down 3 percent in rooms from last year. Projects scheduled to start in the next 12 months totaled 3,870 with 551,188 rooms, down 3 percent in projects but up 1 percent in rooms. Early planning reached 5,744 projects and 798,792 rooms, up 10 percent in projects and 9 percent in rooms year-over-year.
Upper midscale and upscale hotels accounted for 52 percent of the global pipeline, LE said. Upper midscale stood at 4,463 projects and 567,396 rooms, while upscale reached 3,852 projects and 655,674 rooms. Upper upscale totaled 1,807 projects and 385,396 rooms, and luxury totaled 1,267 projects and 245,665 rooms, up 11 percent year-over-year.
In the first half of 2025, 970 hotels with 138,168 rooms opened worldwide. Another 1,884 hotels with 280,079 rooms are scheduled to open before year-end, for a 2025 total of 2,854 hotels and 418,247 rooms. LE projects 2,531 hotels with 382,942 rooms to open in 2026 and 2,554 hotels with 382,282 rooms to open globally in 2027, the first time a forecast has been issued for that year.
HAMA is accepting submissions for its 20th annual student case competition.
The cases reflect a scenario HAMA members faced as owner representatives.
Teams must submit a financial analysis, solution and executive summary.
THE HOSPITALITY ASSET Managers Association is accepting submissions for the 20th Annual HAMA Student Case Competition, in which more than 60 students analyze a management company change scenario and provide recommendations. HAMA, HotStats and Lodging Analytics Research & Consulting are providing the case, based on a scenario HAMA members faced as owner representatives.
Student teams must prepare a financial analysis, a recommended solution and an executive summary for board review, HAMA said in a statement.
“Each year, the education committee looks forward to the solutions that the next generation of hotel asset managers bring, applying their own experiences to issues in ways that reveal new directions,” said Adam Tegge, HAMA Education Committee chair. “This competition demonstrates that the future of hotel asset management is in good hands.”
The two winning teams will each receive a $5,000 prize and an invitation to the spring 2026 HAMA conference in Washington, D.C. HAMA will cover travel and lodging.
Twenty industry executives on the HAMA education committee will evaluate submissions based on presentation quality, the statement said. HAMA mentors volunteer from September through November to assist teams seeking feedback and additional information. Schools will select finalists by Jan. 15, with graduate and undergraduate teams reviewed separately.
The competition has addressed topics in operating and owning hospitality assets and HAMA consulted university professors to update the format for situations students may encounter after graduation, the statement said.
This year’s participants include University of Denver, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Boston University, Florida International University, Michigan State University, Columbia University, Morgan State University, Howard University, New York University and Penn State University.