- Approximately 300 top
lodging professionals, including investors, major hotel brands
representatives and over 50 lenders will be meeting in Boston at the
Hotel Equity & Lender Perspectives (“HELP Conference”) in a
collective effort to spur transaction activity within the hotel sector.
The inaugural event, taking place May
2nd and 3rd at the Westin Waterfront Boston Hotel will offer a
forum for lenders and investors from across the country to actively
discuss opportunities for financing existing hotels, as well as new
construction, something that hasn’t been seen for almost five years.
Investors from across the country are attending this inaugural event.
“The performance of the U.S. hotel industry has steadily improved and
we need to demonstrate that the dynamics are firmly in place for
continued recovery and profit growth to boost lender confidence in
hotels. Anticipated yields on hotel investments are far superior to
that of office or multi-family sectors”, said Jim O’Connell,
Co-Chairman of the “HELP” Conference.
- An estimated $2 billion of
lending power specifically directed at hotels will be on hand.
HELP Conference Co-hosts, Ken Wilson and Chad Crandell of Capital Hotel
Management and Jim O’Connell of O’Connell Hospitality Group have
assembled representatives from many of the top public and private
equity groups such as Hospitality Properties Trust, Chatham Lodging
REIT, Cornerstone, AEW, Square Mile and Cerberus Capital as well as
lenders such as Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Starwood
Property Trust and Rockbridge Capital. Highlighting the critical role
that brands play in transactions, the program will also feature hotel
executives from Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Marriott, Hilton, IHG,
Hyatt, Carlson and Choice Hotels. This informative transaction oriented
program, including a heavy emphasis on networking, is the ideal
platform for initiating deals and it is fully expected that several
hotel transactions will be traced right back to the HELP Conference.
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