Hotel Real Estate News

D.C. convention center hotel deal close

2009-06-20T17:31:00.000+03:00

Developers of the planned convention center hotel and D.C. officials have reached a tentative deal that would expedite the project without the city buying in as an equity partner.

The city has already committed land and $187 million for a planned $540 million, 1,167-room Marriott Marquis across the street from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center that is viewed as critical to the city’s ability to attract major convention business.

But in early June, when the search for private financing by development partners Quadrangle Development Corp. and Capstone Development LLC stalled, Mayor Adrian Fenty proposed issuing $750 million in bonds to finance and own the entire building.

Hilton to Move Headquarters to D.C. Area

2009-01-22T23:47:00.000+02:00

Hilton Hotels, one of the world's largest lodging firms, said yesterday that it is moving its corporate headquarters -- and several hundred jobs -- to the D.C. region this year, parking itself squarely in the back yard of a major competitor, Marriott International.

The announcement, which surprised industry executives, comes less than two years after the Blackstone Group bought the Beverly Hills, Calif., hotel chain for $26 billion and later named Christopher Nassetta chief executive. Nassetta, who grew up in Arlington County, had been chief executive of Host Hotels & Resorts, based in Bethesda.

Hyatt Corp in JV with Emaar MGF to build hotels in India

2009-01-16T18:04:00.000+02:00

NEW DELHI: US-based hotel chain operator Global Hyatt Corporation announced a 24:76 joint venture with property developer Emaar MGF for building six hotels in India by 2013. The two partners will jointly invest about Rs 1,000 crore(~$200 million) to build these hotels under the mid-market brand Hyatt Place.

Besides picking a minority stake in a JV with Emaar MGF, Global Hyatt has signed management contracts with different individual property developers for another 14 hotels under its premium brands-Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency. Under the management contract, the real estate developer sets up the hotel and the hotel operator charges a management fee from the real estate developer to manage the hotel.

Global Hyatt Corporation global head-real estate & developments Steve Haggaerty said, "We will spend about $ 200 million on six hotels jointly with Emaar MGF. This investment would be a mix of equity and debt and we are in the process of raising the debt component."

MGM Mirage’s Murren Cutting Debt, May Sell Casinos

2009-01-10T21:03:00.001+02:00

Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- MGM Mirage’s new chief executive officer, James Murren, said he plans to “dramatically” reduce debt and will consider further casino sales as he overhauls the company’s balance sheet.

Murren plans to refinance maturing bonds as bank lending resumes and markets open up. MGM Mirage may buy back some notes trading at discounted levels, either through market purchases or tender offers, he said in an interview yesterday. Nothing is off the table, said Murren, 47, who also was named chairman.

“We’re going to pull every lever we feel like we should pull to strengthen this company, to not only weather the recession, but come out of it stronger,” Murren said. “We are certainly not looking to aggressively sell assets, but the point is that we do have assets that are attractive and we are going to be very responsive.”

Developer proposes to demolish Century Plaza hotel

2008-12-18T20:18:00.000+02:00

The 726-room Century Plaza has played host to U.S. presidents, rock stars and business moguls, and served as the location for countless galas and social functions since it was completed in 1966 as the centerpiece of an office, retail and residential development carved out of the former back lot of the 20th Century Fox film studio.

For many years the Century Plaza's doormen wore red Beefeater costumes. The hotel's ballrooms welcomed high-profile events, including an opening charity gala in 1966 emceed by Bob Hope, who with singer Andy Williams entertained the likes of Ronald and Nancy Reagan and Walt and Lillian Disney.

President Nixon hosted a state dinner there in 1969 for the Apollo 11 astronauts after their successful journey to the moon. In 1995, Hollywood studio head and notorious embezzler David Begelman committed suicide in a room at the hotel.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Provides Intra-Quarter Update

2008-12-14T14:29:00.000+02:00

Disclosure regarding the non-GAAP financial measures in this release is included on page 5. Disclosure regarding the Comparable Portfolio is included on page 6 of this release. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measure for each of the periods presented are included on page 7 of this release.
Arthur Buser, President, stated "While we are seeing softness in both transient and group trends, we are reaffirming the guidance we provided during our third-quarter call earlier this fall. We continue to work closely with our managers to drive top-line growth and to improve our operating efficiencies to minimize margin erosion in this challenging operating environment."

Citigroup downgrades Indian Hotels to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’

2008-12-08T09:14:00.000+02:00

Citigroup has downgraded Indian Hotels to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ rating with a target price of Rs 47. The downgrade is based on lower earnings estimates to take into account the recent terror attacks in Mumbai, which will lead to temporary shutdown of the company’s flagship property in Mumbai and likely lower occupancy of the company’s other properties in India.

Indian Hotels is the largest hotel operator in the country and is looking to enter the budget hotel segment through its new brand ‘Ginger’ . It already operates 11 budget hotels and plans to add 35 such hotels in the next few years with an investment of Rs 400-600 crore. Indian Hotels also plans to foray into the adventure business with wildlife lodges.

Hospitality Veterans Launch New Fund to Acquire Hotels

2008-12-03T19:39:00.000+02:00

"We believe the turmoil in the credit markets, together with the prospect of a recession, the depth and duration of which is unknown, will create compelling opportunities to acquire hotels at historically attractive prices," Solmson said. "Assuming moderate leverage of approximately 50 percent, we will have up to $300 million in buying power and plan to invest this sum over the next few years. We intend to acquire an institutional grade portfolio of premium-branded select-service and full-service hotels that will be diversified by brand, geography and market segment. Initially, we will focus on Marriott, Starwood (including Sheraton and Westin) and Hilton-branded products."
Solmson noted that the company has flexibility in structuring transactions. "We intend to be entrepreneurial in our approach and creative in structuring transactions, and we have the ability to move quickly. We will work directly with owners, developers, brokers and management companies to source transactions. It is anticipated that all of the hotels will be operated by third-party management companies."

Ethiopian Airlines scooped the 2008 Best Airline in Africa Award at the African Travel Award gala night held in Lagos, Nigeria. The award was conferre

2008-11-11T12:05:00.001+02:00

DUBAI - Hashoo Group of Hashwani from Pakistan has announced that it plans to invest in the hospitality and real estate development industry in the UAE under the “Pearl Continental” hotels brand.

The hotel chain is popularly known in Pakistan as PC and in Dubai, it will be known as the Pearl Continental Hotel Apartments said Sadruddin Hashwani.

The first property has opened in Al Sufouh-Tecom on Shaikh Zayed Road a couple of weeks ago, having easy access to the Media and Internet cities, Knowledge Village and the new developments along the highway to Jebel Ali. It has 128 apartments which include 80 studios and 48 one bedrooms. Other properties are planned to be opened in Mankhool area soon and

later in Deira. “Our main aim is to serve the large number of Pakistanis visiting Dubai. We want to provide a decent accommodation away from home at prices that are affordable to all,” Hashwani said.

Chicago, Trump Hits Headwinds

2008-10-30T12:47:00.000+02:00

Donald Trump's tallest construction project ever is facing some tall challenges.

Many real-estate developers are under pressure these days as lenders and investors rush to cut their exposure to the market. But Mr. Trump's 92-story Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, which will be the tallest building constructed in the U.S. since the Sears Tower opened in 1973, may be especially vulnerable because it's getting hit by a triple whammy of colliding forces: the credit crunch, the reversal in the housing market and weak retail sales.
[Ivanka and Donald Trump cement their mark on the tower.] Associated Press

Ivanka and Donald Trump cement their mark on the tower.

The shiny glass skyscraper is one of the few that the brash Mr. Trump developed without partners. The situation also puts pressure on one of the project's major lenders,

Condo-hotel king no longer reigns

2008-09-02T10:36:00.000+03:00

Although this roly-poly, baby-faced real estate developer is hardly a household name, he cut deals with plenty of people who were. Deftly working the celebrity circuit, while claiming to be developing more than $1 billion worth of properties around Miami and Chicago, a newspaper called him the "condo-hotel king."

Today, the king's realm is nearly bankrupt. In Miami Beach, two hotels in the high-gloss South Beach neighborhood that he planned to market under Nicky Hilton's name became the haunts of squatters and were auctioned in the spring. Another Miami Beach hotel, the Royal Palm, also slipped from his grasp, in 2007.

Former business associates assert in lawsuits that Falor, 40, pretended to own property that he did not own, used business funds for toys like luxury cars and a private jet, and otherwise mismanaged his finances.

Sheraton Edison Hotel Raritan Center Embarks on a Multi-Million Dollar Reinvention

2008-06-26T02:02:00.000+03:00

he Buccini/Pollin Group – a leading real estate development, management and ownership company, today announced plans for the extensive multi-million dollar renovation – or reinvention – of the Sheraton Edison Hotel Raritan Center. PM Hospitality Strategies, Inc. (PMHS), a hotel management affiliate of Buccini/Pollin, is spearheading the service delivery for the reinvention, while BPGS Construction is tasked with handling the construction completion. Furthermore, the reinvention is being completed in conjunction with Sheraton’s global effort to revitalize their brand with a comprehensive new design of lobbies and guests rooms. The Sheraton Edison will reopen in December 2008.

“We are thrilled to bring Edison and its clientele an innovative, completely reinvented first-class hotel worthy of the area’s history,” states Dave Pollin, President of Buccini/Pollin. “Our plans are extensive so that upon completion, the Sheraton Edison will be a premier business and leisure destination.”

Named for Thomas Edison's Menlo Park lab, Edison, NJ is home to over 400 inventions, including the light bulb, streetlight and the phonograph. Developed in the 1980’s, the Sheraton Edison Hotel Raritan Center was – and remains – one of New Jersey’s most notable hotels in the center of the largest business park east of the Mississippi River.

Purple Hotel sold

2008-05-10T03:35:00.000+03:00

The Purple Hotel in Lincolnwood, legendary home to decay and debauchery, is being sold. The deal could lead to the demolition of a classy place to stay in the 1960s that 40 years later became better known as a host to rodents and sex parties. In the Tony Rezko political corruption trial, government witness Stuart Levine confessed to preferring the Purple for drug parties he organized with similarly addled pals.

And no report on the hotel is complete without a mention of the mob hit in the parking lot 25 years ago. Allen Dorfman was the victim of the unsolved crime.

Buyers of condo-hotel hybrids who lost big are now suing

2008-04-20T13:50:00.000+03:00

Condo-hotels, or condotels as some call them, aren't regulated by the Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums & Mobile Homes even though the state leads the nation in the number of condo-hotel units.

"It's a mess," said Raphan, an assistant ombudsman for the state agency.

Raphan's view mirrors that of many who watched the novel craze begin and crash almost as quickly.

Hotel Real Estate Sales Continues Hyper-Active Trend in 2007, 2008

2008-04-12T10:55:00.000+03:00

Highlights of the report point out that 2007 was a mixed bag, ranging from mega-deals, such as the Blackstone Group's purchase of Hilton Hotels Corporation, valued at $26.3 billion, to transactions below $5 million. Transactions in the under $15 million category were particularly plentiful in 2007, with 426 reported sales. "Industry-wide, we tracked 736 transactions last year, with the average hotel sold having 196 rooms and generating an average price per key of a record $117,000, up from $110,000 a room in 2006 and up from the decade low of $52,000 in 2000," said Brandt Niehaus, CHB, HBI president and president of Louisville-based Huff, Niehaus & Associates. "The trend toward higher pricing reflected the operating strength of the industry in 2007, which produced a 5.7 percent improvement in RevPAR, according to Smith Travel Research."

Inverse Correlation - Dollar And Hotel Rates

2008-04-01T23:49:00.000+03:00

Forbes has an article headlined "Dollar's Drain Is Hotel Industry's Gain". New York City hotels (and real estate), in particular, seem to have reaped the most benefits from the declining dollar as Europeans seem to have a relentless appetite for the sights and sounds of the Big Apple.

This seeming inverse correlation (as the dollar gets "smaller" hotel rates seems to get "bigger" or at least help keep Revpar constant given some softness in occupancy) appears to be driven by both European and Asian markets.

InterContinental Opening Colombian Hotel

2008-03-22T19:29:00.000+02:00

MIAMI - InterContinental Hotels Group PLC said Thursday it plans to open its first hotel property in Cartagena, Colombia.

The Holiday Inn Express Cartagena Hotel & Suites, which will be a 32-story mixed-use complex, is set to open in early 2010, IHG said.

Promotora San Martin Plaza will own the property, and IHG's Americas operations division, The Hotel Management Group, will manage the property under a long-term contract.

Sarovar Hotels and Resorts

2008-03-15T19:57:00.000+02:00

It operates 36 properties in India including, Hometel, and three, four and five-star hotels under the Sarovar brand, and is also the master franchiser for Carlson Hospitality Worldwide’s Park Plaza and Park Inn brands.

It has around 33 properties under various stages of development, which will all come up in about three years.

“We are planning an investment of Rs 350-400 crore in the next few years to expand our chain of budget hotels and we need funds for this,” said Anil Madhok, managing directors, Sarovar Hotels.

Oberoi adds four hotels to ME region

2008-03-09T00:01:00.000+02:00

Oberoi Hotels & Resorts offer a combination of breathtaking locations, luxurious environs and every modern-day amenity together with attentive and warm service, delivered with genuine care.

Luxury as a unique, memorable and personal experience is core to the Oberoi philosophy and encompasses every element of a guest’s stay from the design of the hotel that takes its inspiration from the destination and interiors that showcase the local arts and crafts to a staff that is committed and inspired to deliver the finest service. The same philosophy extends to the design, interiors, facilities and the service extended at the Oberoi Spas.

Dubai firm seeks partners for $2 bln Islamic hotels

2008-03-03T18:06:00.000+02:00

DUBAI, March 3 (Reuters) - Dubai-based Almulla Hospitality said on Monday it is seeking partners for a $2 billion plan to develop a hotel chain that complies with Islamic law, including a ban on alcohol.

"The market for Islamic hotels is currently fragmented due to lack of professional management and we recognise the growing need for a professionally-operated international hotel chain which operates on Islamic principles," the firm's chairman Abdulla Mohamed Almulla said in the statement.

US hotel real estate sales set for slide of up to 50%

2008-02-28T12:58:00.001+02:00

Sales of US hotels are expected to fall as much as 50 per cent this year because the credit squeeze has reshaped investors' ability to purchase real estate, says a report due for release today.

The value of hotel property sales is expected to fall to $23bn-$26bn, down from a record $45bn in 2007, as deals become more difficult, according to real estate brokers Jones Lang Lasalle. The expected slide in sales would more than undo last year's 38 per cent rise.

"The credit crunch has halted mega-deals and many portfolio deals," the report will say.

Hilton Garden Inn hotel has broken ground in Riverview

2008-02-23T16:30:00.000+02:00

Scheduled to open in January 2009, the upscale but mid-priced property will feature 119 guest rooms, 4,000 square-feet of flexible meeting space, a workout facility and an indoor-outdoor swimming pool, said a release from GS Development LLC, a Tifton, Ga.-based multi-brand hotel company.

The property also includes a restaurant and an on site guest laundry facility and wireless high-speed Internet access and other amenities.

A $45 million 'village' Publishers plan hotels in Intercourse

2008-02-19T12:18:00.000+02:00

The owners of an Intercourse publishing company Monday unveiled a $45 million development plan designed to upgrade accommodations for the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the small village each year.
Merle and Phyllis Good, owners of Good Enterprises Ltd., which includes a publishing company, showed Leacock Township supervisors architectural sketches of an ambitious project they call Village Green. It would be built on 26.6 acres adjacent to its publishing business, Good Books, in the 3500 block of Old Philadelphia Pike.

Moyer remaking derelict hotel into biz-class accommodations

2008-02-15T23:41:00.000+02:00

The Cornelius Hotel, at Southwest Alder Street and Park Avenue, was built in 1908 and sports a grand lobby but has been closed for several years. Moyer acquired the historic property in 2002 for $2.4 million, according to Multnomah County property records.

The hotel is being renovated by Moyer's firm, TMT Development Co., in partnership with TVA Architects.

Somerset park project

2008-02-10T11:34:00.000+02:00

Highlands Real Estate Development, which owns the property where the park and hotel project would have been built, released few details on why it canceled the project, which reportedly would have cost several million dollars more than expected.

Pam Wolfe, president of the development company, which Aldom said also owns the Ramada Inn in Ligonier and the Days Inn in Donegal, did not respond to a call for comment.