PHILADELPHIA — Hospitality owner Cambridge Landmark has completed a $30 million renovation of its 760-room Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown hotel in the Center City area of Philadelphia. The project upgraded the hotel’s guestrooms and 2,071-square-foot fitness center, which now features four Peloton bikes, among other new fitness equipment. The renovation also delivered a new 60,000-square-foot event space with two dining options.
NEW YORK CITY — Helmsley Spear LLC has arranged a $9.5 million refinancing loan for the 49-room Kings Hotel in Brooklyn. Crown Bank provided the 10-year, fixed-rate loan that carries a 25-year amortization schedule. Located at 2416 Atlantic Ave., the hotel features a fitness center and conference rooms. Showket Ahamed of Helmsley Spear arranged the financing.
LOS ANGELES — Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Sonnenblick-Eichner Co. has secured $20.5 million in first mortgage debt for Carriage Inn, a hotel located at the intersection of Burbank Boulevard and the San Diego Freeway in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles. The non-recourse, 10-year, fixed-rate loan features interest-only payments for the entire loan term. Affiliated with the Best Western brand, the hotel features 178 guest rooms, meeting space, a pool, Jacuzzi, fitness center and surface parking for 160 cars. Patrick Brown and Elliot Eichner of Sonnenblick-Eichner Co. arranged the financing for the undisclosed borrower. The lender was also not disclosed.
BETHESDA, MD. — Marriott International Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) will furlough approximately two-thirds of its 4,000 corporate staff members in the company’s Bethesda office, as well roughly two-thirds of its international corporate staff, according to multiple media sources. A company spokesperson first confirmed the news to The Wall Street Journal, which also reported that most furloughs are expected to last 60 to 90 days. Hospitality and travel blog One Mile at a Time reported the same time frame. The announcement comes on the heels of Marriott’s decision last week to furlough what could ultimately be tens of thousands of employees at its hotels around the world. According to the company’s website, Marriott owned and operated about 7,300 properties under 30 brands in 134 countries. Those properties total more than 1.3 million rooms. Marriott also employs some 130,000 people worldwide. On a conference call late last week, Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson told investors that after seeing strong growth in revenue per available room (REVpar) in its European and North American hotels during the first two months of the year, these properties were now seeing an average occupancy rate of about 25 percent. That figure stood at roughly 70 percent a year ago, …
ORLANDO, FLA. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $5.5 million sale of Travelodge by Wyndham Orlando Near Florida Mall, a 132-room hotel in Orlando. The property is situated at 1850 W. Landstreet Road, eight miles south of downtown Orlando and two miles from The Florida Mall. The hotel offers free parking, a pool, business center and laundry facilities. Ahmed Kabani of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, an undisclosed limited liability company, and the buyer, a private investor, in the transaction.
CHICAGO — The Park Hyatt Chicago and Peninsula, both luxury hotels in downtown Chicago, have temporarily closed their doors due to the coronavirus outbreak. The 198-room Park Hyatt will not accept room, restaurant, bar or other reservations until April 30. No reservations will be available until further notice at the 339-room Peninsula, according to the hotel’s website. These properties are the first two downtown Chicago hotels to close because of the coronavirus and other closures will likely follow, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
BETHESDA, MD. — According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Marriott International Inc. is in the beginning stages of furloughing what could be up to tens of thousands of employees. The hotel chain cited travel cancellations and government travel bans due to the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak as the basis for its decision. Through a Marriott spokeswoman, the Journal reported the jobs are from hotel managers down to housekeeping. The spokeswoman said there have not been any corporate-level furloughs, but those are being discussed. According to Marriott, the Bethesda-based company employs 130,000 people nationwide. Additionally, on Tuesday afternoon, the CEO of Marriott, Arne Sorenson, as well as CEOs from Best Western, Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corp., InterContinental Hotels Group, MGM Resorts, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, Universal and The Walt Disney Co. met with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in an effort to work with the federal government to protect the millions of employees working in the hospitality sector. Based on current occupancy estimates, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) says 4 million hospitality jobs have been eliminated or are on the verge of being lost in the next few weeks. The AHLA reports …
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Eldorado Resorts has temporarily closed its 2,379-room Tropicana Atlantic City casino and hotel in New Jersey. In an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, the company is complying with an order from the governments of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut to temporarily close movie theaters, gyms and casinos in the Tri-State area. The property features 125,935 square feet of casino space, 20 restaurants, 18 bars and amenities including a fitness center, indoor and outdoor pools and full-service spa.
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Hospitality Real Estate Counselors (HREC) has arranged a $14.1 million construction loan for the 126-room Tru by Hilton hotel in Manchester, located approximately 15 miles south of Concord. A regional bank provided the loan. Florida-based developer Lansing Melbourne Group is building the hotel for $23 million, according to local news site manchesterinklink.com. John Siska and Mike Armstrong of HREC arranged the loan, specific terms of which were undisclosed. The hotel is expected to open in third quarter of 2020.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Boca Raton, Fla.-based Waramaug Hospitality has purchased Castle Hotel, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, in Orlando. The 214-room hotel offers seven meeting rooms totaling 8,400 square feet, gardens, an outdoor swimming pool with whirlpool spa tub, upscale dining, business center, fitness center and two rooftop terraces. The hotel is situated at 8629 International Drive, 11 miles south of downtown Orlando and four miles south of Universal Orlando Resort. Furthermore, Universal’s newest theme park, Epic Universe, currently scheduled to open in 2023, is located across the street from the hotel. Waramaug has retained Schulte Hospitality Group to manage the property. Further details of the transaction were not disclosed.
