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Hotel Investors on Buying Spree in San Diego


By Lori Weisberg, The San Diego Union-Tribune
June 21, 2011


The La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla is among the San Diego trophy properties that
have attracted the attention of investors. — James Greggn Hotels

Much like earnest shoppers chasing bargains at an after-Christmas sale, hotel investors have gone on a buying spree in recent months, scouring major markets like San Diego for deals they can nab before prices escalate beyond their reach.

Tony properties like the W and Sè hotel in downtown San Diego, both saddled with heavy debt, were sold this year, as were much lesser known, mid-scale suburban hotels in areas like Rancho Peñasquitos and Sorrento Mesa.

While the hospitality sector was battered badly during the Great Recession, today the market is on the rebound as leisure and business travelers once again open up their wallets for hotel stays. In San Diego, revenues per room are up nearly 8 percent from a year earlier, while occupancies have risen close to 4 percent, according to Smith Travel Research.

At the same time, hotels that were purchased or refinanced when the economy was booming have seen their values plummet far below what is owed, leaving their owners with little choice but to default as their mortgages came due.

That confluence of circumstances has buyers, from private hotel investors to publicly traded real estate investment trusts with money to burn, eager to snap up assets they believe will eventually deliver a healthy return on their investment.

“Pricing was pretty frothy in 2006 and 2007, and we weren’t buying hotels then, so we missed out on a lot of deals but we refused to overpay, said Len Howell, vice president of hospitality acquisitions for San Diego-based Pacifica Host Hotels, which is in the process of buying the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, a considerable coup for the company’s growing portfolio. “Values now have definitely come down, and we have cash we want to place, and we’re looking to grow.

For the rest of the story including deailed chart of hotel sales through May 2011 along with photo gallery of  properties please visit:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jun/17/hotel-investors-buying-spree-san-diego/


Contact:

Lori Weisberg, Staff Writer
San Diego Union-Tribune
350 Camino de la Reina
San Diego, CA  92102
619-293-2251
[email protected]


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Also See: San Diego's Hotel La Jolla, Which Faced Foreclosure, Purchased by an Affiliate of Westport Capital Partners; Ongoing Renovations to Continue / Lori Weisberg / June 2011

Hyatt Affiliate Acquires Three All-Suites Hotels from The Hardage Group for $76.5 million; All to be Re-branded as Hyatt Summerfield Suites with $15 million Planned for Renovations / Lori Weisberg / June 2011

Lowe Enterprises Places the Seven-year-old, 210-room Estancia La Jolla Hotel and Spa, Located Adjacent to UC San Diego Campus up for Sale / Lori Weisberg / June 2011

Bankrupt Sè San Diego Hotel Along with The House of Blues Sells for $49 million to Kimpton Hotels, Far Short of Amount Owed to Lender and Creditors / Lori Weisberg / May 2011

Built in 1926, the Historic Boutique Hotel, Park Manor Suites in San Diego Sold for $11.5 million to Illinois Company Specializing in Time Shares / Lori Weisberg / May 2011

San Diego Hoteliers Asked to Pay $30 million a Year for Convention Center Expansion / Lori Weisberg and Roger Showley / May 2011

California Lawmakers to Address Hotel Sheets: Flat or fitted? Union-backed bill intended to cut down on worker injuries / Lori Weisberg / May 2011

Hotel Room Discounting Appears to be Coming to an End, Particularly for Upper End Hotels / Lori Weisberg / March 2011

Want to Run a Hotel? Take Calculus / Lori Weisberg / March 2011

Pacifica Host Hotels Acquires the 135-room Aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga for Roughly $8 million, Property was the Debut of Aloft for Starwood / Lori Weisberg / February 2011

Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego to be Sold to Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. for $570 million / February 2011

Following Two Years of Deep Discounting, U.S. Hotel Outlook Improving / Lori Weisberg / January 2011

San Diego's Hotel Occupancies May be on the Rise but so are Foreclosures with a 433% Increase Over 2009 Bank Owned Properties / January 2011

Strategic Hotels and Resorts Granted Extension to Retire More than $600 million of Debt on San Diego's Hotel del Coronado / January 2011

Bankrupt 5th Avenue Partners LLC, Owners of the Sè San Diego Hotel Along with Adjacent Building Housing the House of Blues, Could be Put up for Sale; Estimates Claim Could go for $50 million, Significantly Less than the $150 million Development Cost /January 2011

San Diego County Hotels Looking to a Healthier New Year as RevPAR Rose by 4.2% and Occupancy 5.4% in 2010, Gains Expected to Continue / January 2011

Three San Diego Hotel Properties that Were Returned to Lender by Sunstone Hotel Investors Now Up for Sale / December 2010

San Diego Hotel Performance May Mirror the Rest of Nation Says Starwood Hotels and Resorts CEO Frits van Paasschen / October 2010

San Diego Leads California with Hotels in Distress; Numbers Surge 160% Over Same Period a Year Ago / October 2010

Questions Surround Why the City of San Diego Has Permitted the Swanky SE San Diego Hotel to Continue Operating Without a Valid Certificate of Occupancy / September 2010

San Diego's Manchester Grand Hyatt Deal with Sunstone Hotel Investors Goes Sour / September 2010

Skin Care Concierges Protect Hotel Sunbathers - The Newest in Amenities? / August 2010

Traveler Preferences are Changing: Upscale San Diego Hoteliers are Increasingly Becoming Pet Friendly Offering Pet Amenities From Surfing Lessons to Pet Psychic Sessions / August 2010

Former Owner of San Diego's W Hotel, Sunstone Hotel Investors, Wants to Acquire Manchester Grand Hyatt / August 2010

San Diego's Downtown W Hotel Now Owned by Lender / July 2010

During Downturn San Diego Hotel Owners Face a Delicate Balancing Act in Calculating When and How Much to Invest in Restorations / April 2010


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