KENOSHA, WIS. — Rosemont, Ill.-based First Hospitality Group Inc. will manage the brand new Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Kenosha/Pleasant Prairie. Construction on Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Kenosha is scheduled for later this year, with plans to open in 2016. Located in the southeast quadrant of highway 165 and I-94, the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Kenosha will feature 108 guest rooms throughout four stories and convenient amenities including an indoor pool, exercise room and business center. Along with the hotel, the owner of the property, Varin/Kenosha Hotel Partners II, is also interested in developing two adjacent restaurants on site.
URBANCREST, OHIO — Value Place, an extended-stay hotel brand, has opened a newly constructed hotel in Urbancrest, Ohio. Value Place partnered with VP Columbus LLC to open the new hotel. The hotel is located at 3205 Centerpoint Drive and is within 10 miles of Columbus. The four-story, 124-room hotel features laundry facilities, high-speed wireless Internet and modified kitchens. The opening of this hotel brings the brand’s hotel count in Ohio to 13, with locations in Dayton, Cincinnati and Cleveland.
CHICAGO — The Virgin Group has opened its first property, Virgin Hotels Chicago. The new hotel brand will join a portfolio of hospitality companies led by Virgin Group and its founder, Sir Richard Branson. Virgin Hotels Chicago is located in Chicago’s Loop district in the historic Old Dearborn Bank Building at 203 N. Wasbash Ave. The 26-story Art Deco building includes 250 guestrooms, including 40 one-bedroom suites and two penthouse suites. All guestrooms are divided into two spaces by sliding doors. The dressing rooms include a full vanity, make-up desk and mirror, an extra-large shower with a bench and his and hers closets. Several of the building’s original features remain intact and are showcased throughout. Some of those include a 1920s oak cigar bar that serves as the hotel’s front desk, ornate brass elevator doors and an original mail slot and chute. Virgin Hotels plans to open a second location in Nashville in the summer of 2016 and a third property in New York City in 2017. The team will announce two additional locations by the end of 2016, with the brand planning to open 20 locations by 2025.
PORTLAND, ORE. – LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE: LHO) has acquired the 150-room Heathman Hotel in Portland for $64.3 million. The hotel is located at 1001 SW Broadway Street in the downtown district. It is situated adjacent to the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. It is next door to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, which houses the Oregon Symphony. “We are very excited about the acquisition of this special historic asset,” says Michael D. Barnello, LaSalle Hotel Properties’ president and CEO. “The Heathman Hotel is optimally located within an excellent market. Portland boasts a diverse economy, cultural sophistication and an abundance of amenities and attractions for its visitors.” The hotel was originally built in 1927. The asset received a $6-million capitalization investment in 2008. The Company has underwritten approximately $3.0 million of capital investment in 2017 for a soft goods renovation. The Heathman also contains 3,833 square feet of meeting space, Heathman Restaurant & Bar and the Tea Court Lounge. The Heathman Restaurant & Bar and Tea Court Lounge operate under a lease by a major third-party operator. The hotel’s catering and room service also operate under a third-party under a service agreement. The property also leases a retail space …
CUPERTINO, CALIF. — The 164-room Hilton Garden Inn in Cupertino has received $32 million in financing. The hotel is located at 10741 North Wolfe Road. Employers in the area include Trend Micro, Cloud.com and Seagate Technology. The limited-service hotel is also situated near the new Main Street Cupertino development and the Vallco Mall redevelopment. The fixed-rate, permanent financing was arranged by John Nelson of CBRE’s San Francisco office, on behalf of a partnership between Terracommercial and Heil and Associates. Funds were provided by a Wall Street lender. They will be used to refinance the property.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. – The 101-room Hampton Inn & Suites Scottsdale-Riverwalk has received $7 million in acquisition financing. The hotel is located at 9550 E. Indian Bend Road. Indian Bend Hotel Group LLC, an affiliate of Caliber Companies, recently acquired the hotel for $10.4 million. The hotel is part of the 187-acre, $400-million Riverwalk Arizona master development. The bridge loan was funded by Thorofare Capital. The transaction was structured and negotiated by the firm’s Felix Gutnikov.
The U.S. hotel market continues to gain strength following the Great Recession, where in 2009, revenue per available room (RevPAR) fell by 17 percent making it the single-worst performing year in the history of the hotel industry. Atlanta, which is one of the top 25 hotel markets in the U.S., as defined by Smith Travel Research (STR), the hotel industry’s leading performance data provider, experienced a similar decline with RevPAR falling by 18 percent in 2009. Since that time, across the country RevPAR has grown at a compounded average growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4 percent. Atlanta’s RevPAR CAGR during this time period has been 6.1 percent. The main reason Atlanta’s recovery has trailed the nation is related to its average daily rate (ADR). Atlanta’s ADR CAGR has been just 1.3 percent since 2009 as compared to 3 percent for the U.S. Put simply, hotels in Atlanta have not been able to grow their average rate as much as the U.S. average coming out of the recession. The Atlanta hotel market, like other segments of the Atlanta real estate market, has historically tended to get overbuilt when times are good. While hotels often do not represent the “highest and best use” …
In just one generation, the Orlando market and its surrounding area became one of the premier vacation destinations in the United States and the world. With a room inventory second only to Las Vegas, this tourist hot spot strongly felt the financial market meltdown of 2008. However, the last two years have seen the hotel market undergo a strong recovery. In fact, the rate of recovery in the region’s hotel segment is stronger than for hotels nationwide. This trend and the lean operations many hotels adopted during the downturn should produce excellent operating returns for hotels in the region for the foreseeable future, assuming no overbuilding. Improving Vital Signs With a 2008 total room inventory in the metro Orlando region of 111,551 rooms and 437 properties, hoteliers could demand an average daily rate of $106.25. According to STR, in 2009 that daily rate dropped a very painful 11.8 percent to $93.70. This corresponded to a drop in occupancy from 65.2 percent to 60 percent. Between 2008 and 2012, the total inventory of both rooms and properties increased. This growth saw the number of properties rise to 456 and total room inventory to 117,396 in 2012. The permanent and temporary closing …
Cheers and the clamor of new construction are among the dominant sounds wafting above the downtown Austin skyline of late, as the city welcomes a new wave of hotel construction and construction plans. Not a moment too soon. For several years, the hospitality industry has fretted that Austin’s growth as a destination city is outpacing the development of hotel accommodations, particularly in and around downtown. Voila! Hospitality’s proverbial “rooms available” signs are flickering brighter. By early 2013, no fewer than five major hotels will be under construction, delivering more than 2,000 rooms to Austin’s central business district. From all indications, more hotel developments are in the offing for later next year. That’s welcome news for those who promote Austin’s viability as a destination city and who roll out the red carpet for everything from conventions and corporate meetings to spring break activities and mega-events. In mid-November, Austin will debut as host city, through 2021, of the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix, accommodating Formula One racing’s return to the U.S. following a five-year absence. This high-profile race could attract some 300,000 fans. The South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival, Rodeo Austin, and the Austin City Limits Music Festival are just …
Unlike many other major U.S. hotel markets in 2008 and 2009, Kansas City did not experience devastating decreases in occupancy and average daily rate (ADR). The severe drop in revenue that stung markets such as Detroit, Cincinnati, Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego as well as Dallas did not occur in Kansas City. In some instances, these other markets experienced decreases in revenue per available room (RevPAR) of 30 to 35 percent, while Kansas City experienced a decline of 15 to18 percent. The Kansas City hotel market recorded increases in ADR, occupancy and RevPAR throughout 2011 and the trailing 12-month period ending in March 2012. During this period, occupancy increased 3.4 percent to 57.3 percent, average daily rate increased 2.3 percent to $82.61 and RevPAR increased 5.7 percent to $47.37. According to Smith Travel Research, the data was based on 285 reporting hotels with a total of 31,927 rooms. The biggest improvement in real estate fundamentals occurred in the Overland Park-Lenexa market and the Country Club Plaza area. Both areas posted overall RevPAR growth of an impressive 10 percent, while the Kansas City North Airport market experienced growth of only 3.8 percent. Occupancies in the downtown hotel market are projected to remain …