March 30, 2012 - Leisure Real Estate Advisors, LLC has closed the sale of two more bank owned hotel assets, just two weeks after the group announced the sale of three other bank owned assets. “We have been placed in the fortunate position by a good number of lenders to dispose of their hotel assets”, stated Brent A. Jaynes, co-founder and managing partner. “Over the past two years, we have become known for our ability to deal with these assets. Like everyone else, though, we are hopeful that these distressed assets a purged from the system, sooner than later”

The first transaction involved the Highland Hotel in Great Bend, KS. Richard Hagerman, Senior Investment Advisor out of the Kansas City office represented the Seller, KINBAN, Inc, a REO holding company of a regional bank based in Great Bend. The 197 unit full service hotel is a former Holiday Inn Holidome located next to a regional convention center. “These older Holidomes can sometimes be a challenge to sell. However, the location of the hotel, its revenue to price ratio, and the proximity to the convention center all contributed to this closing”, said Mr. Hagerman. As with many markets, Great Bend was not immune to the recession and the bank was forced to re-claim the hotel in early 2011. The buyer, Ambika Enterprises, is based in British Columbia and saw the opportunity to take advantage of a discounted and distressed situation. Ambika will operate the hotel as an independent for the time being and then decide if they want to engage a franchise.

The second REO transaction took place in Colfax, IA, a 60 unit Comfort Inn built in 2003. David Jones, Senior Associate in the Kansas City office represented the Seller in the transaction. Colfax Valley Hotel, LLC, was the Seller, which was a single purpose REO entity for a Mason City, IA bank and the Buyer was Nana Corporation out of Omaha, NE. Although the hotel was fairly new, Choice Hotels would not renew the Comfort Inn flag due to the two story nature of the hotel. “The fact that the flag would not be retained is always a problem, especially when you lose a well known flag, such as Comfort Inn”, commented Mr. Jones. “Many aspects of the deal are complicated by the flag issue, including financing. However, the buyer was able to bring his own lender to the table and get the deal done.” The Buyer will operate the hotel, initially as an independent, then evaluate his options for a franchise.

Leisure Real Estate Advisors, LLC is based in metro Kansas City, with offices in Lincoln, NE and Jefferson City, MO, and has a specialty concentration in the marketing and sale of hotels. Over its 13 year existence, the company has become one of the premier hotel brokerage firms in the central US and has been recognized by Hotel Business and Hotel Motel Management magazines for its performance.

For more information on these sales or to discuss the investment market in general, please direct your questions any of the brokers or to: