HILO, HAWAII — DoubleTree by Hilton has opened the Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo, a 320-room hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii. The historic property recently underwent a $30 million renovation. The hotel includes Hilo’s only nine-hole golf course, along with a swimming pool and fitness center. It is located at 93 Banyan Drive. WHR LLC owns the property, which Aqua-Aston Hospitality manages.
BOSTON — Related Beal has topped off Parcel 1B, a residential, retail and hospitality development in downtown Boston. Designed by CBT Architects, the 484,000-square-foot property will feature 239 affordable and workforce apartment units, 10,000 square feet of street-level retail space, 220 parking spaces and a Courtyard by Marriott. Operated by Turnberry Associates, the 220-room hotel will feature 2,500 square feet of meeting space. Situated within Boston’s Bulfinch Triangle, the property is located in close proximity to public transportation.
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. — Waramaug LS Hotels has purchased the Holiday Inn Express Hauppauge Long Island in Hauppauge for an undisclosed price. Opened in 2001, the seven-story, 133-room hotel recently underwent a comprehensive renovation that upgraded the entire property to latest brand standards. The hotel features an indoor swimming pool, business center, fitness center, sundry shop, complimentary breakfast, free high-speed wireless internet and two meeting rooms. The name of the seller was not released.
OCEAN CITY, MD. — Washington, Del.-based Applied Bank has provided a $21 million construction and permanent loan for a new Hyatt Place Hotel located at 16th Street and Boardwalk in Ocean City. The new 105-room, seven-story hotel will replace the existing Seascape Motel, which opened in the 1950s. The property will feature a restaurant, bar, outdoor veranda, meeting rooms, room service, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a fitness center, as well as six shops fronting Boardwalk. The owner, PRBR Hospitality LLC, has owned the site since 1978.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — Concord Hospitality Enterprises Co. plans to open a new hotel under the Marriott Autograph Collection brand at the former City Hall site in West Palm Beach. The 200-room hotel will anchor the $135 million redevelopment of the three-acre site. Navarro Lowrey Properties is the master developer of the redevelopment, which will include 27,000 square feet of retail space, up to 7,000 square feet of restaurant and outdoor dining space, 255 multifamily residences and a public park. The new hotel will overlook the Intracoastal Waterway and Palm Beach and offer views of the Atlantic Ocean. Concord Hospitality plans to break ground on the hotel in 2017.
ATLANTA — Legacy Ventures has completed Phase I of the $9 million renovation underway at the Embassy Suites Atlanta by Hilton at Centennial Olympic Park, a 321-room hotel in downtown Atlanta. Phase I of the renovations included an upgrade of all suites, including new case goods, window treatments, lighting, artwork, wall coverings and new bathroom tile and mirrors. The corridors also received new carpet, wall covering, paint and lighting, and the lobby and atrium received new furniture. Additionally, the hotel’s restaurant, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, was updated with a reconfigured bar with more seating, and a new Starbucks Coffee was built at the hotel. Phase II, which will focus on upgrading the hotel’s meeting and pre-function rooms, is slated to begin later this year and will include new carpet, paint, lighting and wall coverings, as well as a new bar in the atrium. Legacy Ventures developed and manages the hotel, which opened in June 1999 as the first new-build hotel in downtown Atlanta in 15 years. Situated adjacent to Centennial Olympic Park, the hotel is within walking distance of the Georgia World Congress Center, the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca Cola Museum, the CNN Center, the College Football Hall …
NEW YORK CITY — McSam Hotel Group has broken ground for a 25-story Hyatt Place located in Manhattan’s Garment District/Times Square. Designed by Gene Kaufman Architect, the 180,000-square-foot hotel will feature 518 guest rooms and approximately 7,000 square feet of dining and lounge space, including an indoor restaurant, backyard eatery, bar/lounge, fitness center, business center and meeting space. VLDG Inc. is designing the interiors of the hotel.
BETHESDA, MD. — Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has closed on the $50.1 million sale of DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bethesda-Washington DC located at 8120 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda. The 270-room hotel features a business center, fitness center, coin-operated laundry service, restaurant, bar and lounge, meeting rooms and complimentary Wi-Fi. The buyer was undisclosed.
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICH. — Hilton and Kingsley Hospitality LLC have unveiled plans for a $10 million renovation of the Kingsley Inn in Bloomfield Hills. The historic hotel will reopen as a DoubleTree by Hilton in the fall of 2017. The updated hotel will feature a full-service restaurant, indoor pool and 11,396 square feet of meeting space. Neumann/Smith Architecture is designing the hotel’s exterior renovation. Hotel Investment Services Inc. will operate the hotel, which is expected to open in fall 2017. The hotel will remain open during the renovation.
When comparing hotels for valuation purposes, a common method of making adjustments for the difference between properties is to examine revenue per available room (RevPAR), a measurement of hotel performance. If executed poorly, these calculations can distort property value and lead to unfairly heavy tax burdens on hospitality owners. There are two different ways to calculate RevPAR. The first is to multiply the average rental income per room by the number of rooms occupied, then divide by the number of days in the period. The other method is to divide total guestroom revenue by the number of available rooms and divide that figure by the number of days in the period. In an article titled “Using RevPAR as a Basis for Adjusting Comparable Sales,” published in February 2002 by HospitalityNet.org, appraiser Erich Baum voiced a common argument shared by appraisers who advocate for RevPAR adjustments. Baum contends that the adjustments are appropriate because the revenue a hotel generates is tied to its location and the quality of its product. The question in valuation for property taxation is whether or not RevPAR incorporates additional, non-real estate values such as quality of brand, management, goodwill, etc., and whether or not the RevPAR …