Atlas in the news

Bisnow 01/19/16 Why a Record $1.4B in Sales Volume Is Just the Beginning for OC’s Booming Hotel Market By Patricia Kirk https://www.bisnow.com/orange-county/news/hotel/orange-county-seeing-boom-in-hotel-construction-and-record-setting-sales-of-14b-54699   Orange County’s hospitality industry enjoyed a banner year in 2015, with a boom in hotel development and record-setting sales volume and dollar value hitting $1.4B. That’s according to Atlas Hospitality president Alan Reay, who is among the speakers at our Orange County State of the Market event on Feb. 18 at 2600 Michelson in Irvine. Alan (here at a Kansas City Chiefs game) says among those deals was the 250-room Montage Laguna Beach (below), which changed hands twice in the same year. The first sale to Chicago-based Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc in January 2015 was for $360M, or $1.4M/room, making it the biggest hotel sale in California’s history. Blackstone Group acquired it, along with the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, when it purchased strategic Hotels & Resorts in September for $3.93B. Alan tells us with the high price of existing projects, new development makes sense, as construction financing is readily available for well-located hotels, noting high occupancy is putting upward pressure on room rates. He expects development to continue for another 24 to 36 months before slowing down….

The Orange County Register 01/15/16 Hotel Deals: Pacific Hospitality Group Buys in Hawaii; Anaheim Firm Buys in San Diego By Hannah Madans http://www.ocregister.com/articles/hotel-700047-hospitality-new.html   The hotel boom for Orange County hospitality is already making waves in the New Year. Irvine-based Pacific Hospitality Group has bought the oceanfront Ko’a Kea Hotel & Resort on Kauai. The property was named the most prestigious resort in Hawaii in Conde Nast Traveler’s “Top 25 Resorts in Hawaii: Readers’ Choice Awards 2015.” Terms of the deal, which was announced Thursday, were not disclosed. “It sits really nicely within our expanding portfolio of assets,” said Kory Kramer, PHG chief investment officer. “It’s our first purchase outside of California for the Meritage Collection, which provides diversity and gets us into the Hawaiian market, which we foresee growth in – and it’s a hard market to enter.” Kramer said PHG plans to increase occupancy rates at the Ko’a Kea, which stands just above 60 percent. The hospitality group plans to increase marketing efforts and leverage existing clients. The 121-room hotel includes nine suites, a fitness center, spa, pool and 11,170 square feet of meeting space. The hotel’s restaurant, Red Salt, serves seafood and locally sourced produce. The hotel…

Bisnow 01/11/16 Anaheim’s Fortune Hospitality Snaps Up San Diego Best Western By Patricia Kirk https://www.bisnow.com/orange-county/news/hotel/anaheims-fortune-hospitality-snaps-up-newly-renovated-best-western-in-n-san-diego-co-for-124m-54369 Anaheim-based Fortune Hospitality has acquired the contemporary, 78-room Best Western Plus hotel in North San Diego County for $12.4M, or about $159k/room. The seller was Beverly Hills-based Sikand La Mesa Hotel LLC. Built in 1986 and newly renovated, the former Holiday Inn Express is a three-story hotel on a little less than an acre site at 9550 Murray Dr in La Mesa, just minutes from SDSU, Aztec Aquaplex, Qualcomm Stadium and the SD Zoo. The hotel features a pool, spa, fitness facility and business center, according to the Orange County Business Journal. Irvine-based Atlas Hospitality brokers SVP Sachin Shah and EVP Oliver Shah repped both parties in this deal.

Sacramento Business Journal 01/05/16 Hotel Sells for Hefty Price in El Dorado Hills By Mark Anderson http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/blog/morning-roundup/2016/01/hotel-sells-for-hefty-price-in-el-dorado-hills.html   In another sign that Sacramento’s hospitality market is becoming more attractive to investors, a hotel in El Dorado Hills recently sold for a robust price. A San Francisco investor purchased the Holiday Inn Express in the El Dorado Hills Town Center on Dec. 15 for $14.4 million, or $155,203 per room, and plans a major renovation. The selling price for the 93-room hotel is on the higher end for a suburban limited-service hotel. For comparison, the 132-room Holiday Inn Express Sacramento Convention Center sold for $9.5 million, or roughly $71,000 per room, last August. The price reflects the hotel’s strong performance since it opened in late 2005, said Justin Myers, a vice president for Irvine-based hotel brokerage firm Atlas Hospitality Group. The hotel, which was originally built for roughly $12 million, had been run by McDermid Management Co. of Colorado. “El Dorado Hills is an affluent market, and because of its proximity to Intel and Folsom, it is a strong hotel market,” said Myers, who represented the seller. The buyer, Rajputana Hospitality, will spend $1 million on renovations and will also keep…

San Diego Business Journal 01/03/16 Best Western Hotel in La Mesa Sells for $12.4 Million By Lou Hirsh http://sdbj.com/news/2016/jan/03/best-western-hotel-la-mesa-sells-124-million/   Anaheim-based Fortune Hospitality LLC has acquired the 78-room Best Western Plus hotel in La Mesa for $12.4 million, according to CoStar Group and brokerage company Atlas Hospitality Group. The seller of the three-story property, at 9550 Murray Drive, was Sikand La Mesa Hotel LLC, represented by Atlas’ Sachin Shah and Oliver Shah. Sachin Shah also procured the buyer. The hotel was built on 0.81 acres in 1986.

Orange County Register 12/30/15 Historic Downtown Los Angeles Building to Become Hip Hotel By the Associated Press http://www.ocregister.com/articles/downtown-698003-hotel-hoxton.html   LOS ANGELES – A British firm that spent $30 million on a crumbling but historic building in downtown Los Angeles plans to transform it into a hip hotel, according to a real estate brokerage. The purchase by Hoxton is the latest bet that the neighborhood’s renewal is luring tourists and not just business travelers, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. “Downtown is thriving and international companies are all taking note,” said Sara Lo, a senior manager specializing in the hospitality business at consulting and accounting firm Ernst & Young. The 1920s-era building at 11th Street and Broadway has been empty since the mid- to late 1990s. JLL, the brokerage involved in the purchase, said Hoxton is planning a hotel but declined to give additional details. A representative from Hoxton owner Ennismore of London declined to comment on the deal. Downtown has transformed in recent years, with a growing number of dining and nightlife options. The hotel market is strong — with a 77 percent occupancy rate that beats the 75 percent average for the nation’s top 25 markets, Lo said. A…

Los Angeles Times 12/29/15 British Firm Plans to Remake Historic Downtown L.A. Building into a Hip Hotel By Andrew Khouri http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-downtown-hotel-20151230-story.html   A British hotel operator has purchased a historic building in downtown Los Angeles for $30 million and plans to transform the decaying structure into a hip, stylish hotel, according to JLL, the brokerage involved in the deal. The investment is the latest bet that the neighborhood’s renaissance has created a place where tourists, not just business travelers eyeing a comfortable environment, want to lay down their heads. And with the money coming from overseas, it’s a sign investors worldwide think so too. “Downtown is thriving and international companies are all taking note,” said Sara Lo, a senior manager specializing in the hospitality business at consulting and accounting firm Ernst & Young. JLL said that Hoxton is now “underway on plans for the hotel,” but did not provide further details. The operator has hotels in London and Amsterdam and plans to open another in New York and one in Paris next year, according to its website. A representative from Hoxton owner Ennismore of London declined to comment. Hoxton describes its brand as the “anti-hotel,” where travelers find not only…

Orange County Register 12/28/15 The Hotel Boom of 2015: High Occupancy Rates, Rising Room Rates, Record Hotel Sales – The Year Had It All By Hannah Madans http://www.ocregister.com/articles/hotel-697446-hotels-new.html   The hotel industry is booming, as high occupancy and room rates make properties more valuable to own, driving hotel prices higher. The boom is manifesting in new construction, major renovations of existing properties and a record rate of hotel sales. A handful of hotels are being built in Orange County, including the Paséa in Huntington Beach. And a number of existing ones, such as the Island Hotel in Newport Beach, have undergone major renovations this year. Many other hotels changed hands as developers looked to increase their stake in Orange County’s lucrative hospitality market. In 2015, around $1.4 billion was spent on hotel purchases in Orange County, according to Atlas Hospitality Group, an Irvine-based real estate company that specializes in hotels. The firm also said that about eight hotels are under construction here, and four have opened in the past year. The industry is widely expected to continue growing in 2016, but at a slower pace. PASÉA HOTEL & SPA Across the street from the iconic Huntington Beach Pier sits the…

Los Angeles Times 12/23/15 Edition Hotel Project in West Hollywood Gets $260 Million in Financing By James Rufus Koren http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-edition-hotel-20151224-story.html   L.A.’s newest trendy boutique hotel — a luxurious 190-room property with not one but two rooftop pools — is expected to rise from the Sunset Strip this spring now that the developers have received $260 million in financing. The project from New York developer Witkoff Group will be the first West Coast outpost for the Edition hotel brand, a collaboration between hospitality giant Marriott International and former nightclub impresario Ian Schrager, a pioneer of the boutique hotel business. The financing, disclosed this week and arranged by brokerage Jones Lang Lasalle, will cover most of the estimated $300-million construction budget for the project at Sunset Boulevard and Doheny Drive, which will include as many as 20 expensive condos. That price tag implies a very high-end property, fitting for its location on the Sunset Strip, which has become a magnet over the last few years for posh hotels. Developers have proposed or are building hotels at a handful of spots, including a 149-room hotel at the site of the now-closed House of Blues and another rumored for atop the old Hustler…

The San Diego Union-Tribune 12/23/15 San Diego Loses Its Only W Hotel By Lori Weisberg http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/dec/23/san-diego-loses-its-only-w-hotel/   San Diego’s only W hotel is no more, having converted this month to a Marriott-branded Renaissance following a decision by the owners to make a change in the management and name. A presence in downtown San Diego since it opened in December of 2002, the tony 258-room highrise was until this month part of the Starwood Hotels and Resorts portfolio. Its grand opening attracted a star-studded crowd of Hollywood celebs, sports figures and local politicians, and for years was best known for its hip rooftop bar, the Beach, which featured a heated sand-covered floor…  

Orange County Register 12/19/15 Now Coming to Airbnb, the Local Hotel By Lily Leung http://www.ocregister.com/articles/airbnb-696869-hotel-hotels.html   Airbnb, synonymous with strangers renting rooms to other strangers, is attracting a new kind of host: small-scale hotels and motels trying to hawk their rooms. The trend – visible in large metro areas, including New York City, Los Angeles and to some extent in Orange County – may seem counterintuitive. After all, hotels compete with Airbnb hosts for travelers. But the strategy makes financial sense. Airbnb charges hosts a 3 percent fee for every completed booking. That’s much less than the fees at Expedia and Priceline, traditional online travel companies that market and fill a bulk number of rooms for hotels in exchange for commissions. Such websites typically charge hotels up to 25 percent, according to Fast Company. What’s more, small-hotel operators view Airbnb, which claims it has served more than 60 million guests worldwide, as just another means of bringing in customers. “It’s smart opening up channels to do business (and) to get reservations you’re normally not getting,” said Alan X. Reay, president of Irvine-based Atlas Hospitality Group. The operators of Nomads Hotel, a seven-room establishment in San Clemente, hopped onto the Airbnb…

Los Angeles Times 12/09/15 Coming Soon to Two Mostly Muslim Countries: Trump Hotels By Christopher Reynolds http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-trouble-candidate-trump-hotels-20151208-story.html   While Donald Trump calls for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S., Trump hotels face the challenge of making all guests feel welcome, and two new Trump hotels are supposed to open soon in Muslim-majority Azerbaijan and Indonesia. This tension between Trump the presidential candidate and Trump the hospitality company raises many questions. Will the Trump hotels try to distance themselves from the candidate? Will Trump’s caustic talk hurt Trump hotels abroad? How many travelers will feel comfortable in U.S. hotels bearing the Trump name? “I can’t imagine anyone of conscience wanting to step foot in one of his hotels,” said Jay Sorensen, president of Ideaworkscompany, a Wisconsin-based consulting firm that analyzes airline ancillary revenues. “This, I think, has reached a kind of tilting point.” The storm began Monday, when Trump called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S., a move that brought denunciations from political leaders across the spectrum. My phone calls and emails to Trump hotel executives in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas went unreturned on Tuesday. Trump Hotel Waikiki spokeswoman Alyssa Hui said “Our hotel welcomes…