Orange County Business Journal
02/25/16

Hotel Sales Dollars Doubled in 2015
By Paul Hughes

http://www.ocbj.com/news/2016/feb/25/hotel-sales-dollars-doubled-2015/

Fewer hotels sold for more money last year in Orange County.

Twenty-seven hotels sold in 2015—down by three properties from 2014—but they traded hands for $1.75 billion—up 115% from the previous year’s $816 million, according to numbers from Irvine-based Atlas Hospitality Group.

Atlas said 2016 sales volume will fall about 25% from 2015 numbers as larger buyers pull back from the market and more hotels are available for purchase.

The consultant and broker said financing would increase by up to 1 percentage point and it expects the median price per room to decline by up to 10%.

The median price per room in Orange County last year was $135,000, an increase of about 12%.

The average price per room was $271,000, up 64%.

The $426 million deal for the Ritz‐Carlton, Laguna Niguel in Dana Point was the priciest local hotel buy in 2015.

Orange County’s total dollar volume in 2015 was 18% of California’s $9.5 billion in hotel sales.

“By any measure … it was a record‐breaking year,” Atlas said.