Nov. 11, 2011--Lexington's Marriott Griffin Gate Resort & Spa is getting a new owner.

An affiliate of Illinois-based Inland American real estate trust is buying the hotel and two others from Maryland-based DiamondRock Hospitality for $262.5 million. DiamondRock purchased the Lexington hotel for $50 million from Marriott International in 2004.

Also being sold are the 521-room Renaissance Waverly in Atlanta and the 492-room Renaissance Austin outside Austin, Texas. The individual values of the hotels were not disclosed.

Dan Lombardo, spokesman for Inland American, declined to comment on whether customers will see any changes because the deal has not yet closed. It's expected to be complete later this year, he said.

Marriott representatives locally and nationally did not return calls for comment.

At 409 rooms, the Griffin Gate hotel is Lexington's largest, outranking downtown's 367-room Hilton and 366-room Hyatt Regency. The Marriott frequently hosts small conventions and meetings, as it has 16,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space, according to a recent report commissioned by the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The hotel's performance has dipped slightly this year.

Its occupancy rate in the quarter that ended Sept. 9, fell to 68.3 percent from 71.2 percent in the same quarter last year, according to data released by DiamondRock Hospitality. (That quarter in 2010 ended Sept. 10 and did not include the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, which started Sept. 25.) For the year to date, the occupancy rate has dipped to 61 percent from 63.7 percent in the same period a year ago.

The hotel generated $5.67 million in revenues and $650,000 in net income during the quarter. That's down from $6.05 million and $998,000, respectively, last year. For the year to date, the hotel has revenues of $15.44 million and net income of $1.22 million, down from $16.05 million and $1.35 million, respectively, last year.

___

(c)2011 the Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.)

Visit the Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.) at www.kentucky.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services