Bleecker Street Research short LuxUrban Hotels as ‘problems loom’

In a recently published report titled “LuxUrban Hotels: The bed sheets should be made out of red flags,” Bleecker Street Research said it is short shares of LuxUrban Hotels as “problems loom.” “One of LuxUrban’s early backers and principal funding source has been from Greenle Partners, an entity run by Brian Uriyiak. Greenle is run out of the same address as Redwood Partners. Over the last five years Redwood has invested in sixteen different companies, fifteen of which have resulted in shareholder wipeouts. Many of LuxUrban’s properties don’t have the best reviews, with travelers complaining about not being able to get refunds they are entitled to… LuxUrban’s business practices have come under fire in the past for failing to pay rent, short-staffing hotels and incentivizing profits over hospitality, and short-shifting vendors… We have discovered lawsuits of elevator repair guys not being paid and security guys not being paid – things that might matter to someone staying at a hotel. More importantly, there have been a host of recent lawsuits that again accuse LuxUrban of not paying rent, and owing the landlords large sums of unpaid rent. LuxUrban has never once disclosed the nature of these lawsuits, nor did it disclose the departure of its Chief Compliance Officer, who had previously signed LuxUrban’s legal settlements,” the report reads. Bleecker also said that it is “unable to reconcile LuxUrban’s guidance for 2024” with any sort of “underlying economic consistency.”