Hotel Online  Special Report
.

advertisement


..
Ashford Hospitality Trust Signs Agreement to Acquire the 316- room Hyatt Dulles
in Herndon, VA, for $72.5 million from an Affiliate of Colony Capital, LLC
.

Acquisition Highlights:
  • Acquired at a forward twelve-month cap rate of 7.5%, EBITDA multiple of 11.2x, and EBITDA yield of 8.9% 
  • Recently completed $5 million renovation favorably positions Hyatt Dulles in strong RevPAR market 
  • Potential expansion of an additional 210 guestrooms and 16,000 square feet of meeting space provide future upside potential 
  • Ashford's direct hotel portfolio to increase to 78 assets totaling 12,995 rooms 
DALLAS, Sept. 22, 2005 - Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the 316- room Hyatt Dulles in Herndon, VA, for $72.5 million in cash from Dulles Airport Hotel, LLC, an affiliate of Colony Capital, LLC.

The purchase price equates to an 11.2x forward twelve-month EBITDA multiple, an EBITDA yield of 8.9% and a forward twelve-month net operating income capitalization rate of 7.5%. The property generated revenues of $18.1 million on a trailing twelve month basis. The trailing twelve month unleveraged EBITDA yield is 7.3% and the net operating income capitalization rate is 6.0%. The acquisition is expected to close in October 2005.

Opened in 1989, the Hyatt Dulles has 316 rooms and 17,422 square feet of meeting space and two food and beverage facilities. Located in close proximity to Washington Dulles International Airport, the Hyatt Dulles is expected to benefit from the ongoing $3.4 billion expansion of the airport as well as the annex to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum that is adjacent to the airport and draws an estimated 3.5 million visitors per year.

The Hyatt Dulles recently completed a $5 million renovation that included the refurbishment of all guestrooms. The renovation entailed new carpet and wall covering, new and upgraded soft goods, refurbishment of credenzas and work areas. In addition, bathrooms received new tile, granite vanities and new fixtures. Although following this renovation there will be no additional Hyatt brand capital requirements, Ashford intends to renovate the restaurants and public areas following the acquisition. Hyatt will continue to manage the property under a long term management agreement.

Monty J. Bennett, President and CEO of Ashford Hospitality Trust, said, "Over the last two years, the Dulles market has posted double-digit increases in RevPAR. With the infrastructure demand growth and no new hotel supply forecast in the near future, we believe the renovation of such a strong- branded and well-located asset as the Hyatt Dulles will position us to achieve significant EBITDA growth going forward. The potential opportunity to expand the hotel with an additional 210 guestrooms and up to 16,000 square feet of meeting space also offers compelling upside that we will be evaluating in the near future."

Ashford Hospitality Trust is a self-administered real estate investment trust focused on investing in the hospitality industry across all segments and at all levels of the capital structure, including direct hotel investments, first mortgages, mezzanine loans and sale-leaseback transactions. Additional information can be found on the Company's web site at http://www.ahtreit.com.

Colony Capital, LLC is a private, international investment firm focusing primarily on real estate-related assets and operating companies. Since 1991, Colony Capital has invested more than $15 billion in over 8,000 assets through various corporate, portfolio and complex property transactions. Colony has a staff of more than 110 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in New York, Boston, Hawaii, Paris, London, Madrid, Rome, Beirut, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Taipei, Shanghai and Seoul. For additional information visit http://www.colonyinc.com.

Certain statements and assumptions in this press release contain or are based upon "forward-looking" information and are being made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 

.
Contact:
Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc.
Douglas Kessler
Chief Operating Officer and Head of Acquisitions
(972) 490-9600
Web Site: http://www.ahtreit.com
.
Also See: Colony Capital Acquiring Harrah's East Chicago, Harrah's Tunica, Atlantic City Hilton and Bally's Tunica for about $1.24 billion / September 2004
Colony Capital in Agreement to Purchase 15 Raffles Hotels and 26 Swissotels from Raffles Holdings for Approximately US$1 billion; Includes the Fabled Raffles Hotel Singapore / July 2005

.


To search Hotel Online data base of News and Trends Go to Hotel.Online Search

Home | Welcome! | Hospitality News | Classifieds | Catalogs & Pricing | Viewpoint Forum | Ideas/Trends
Please contact Hotel.Online with your comments and suggestions.