Atlas in the news

The 219-room Doubletree hotel in Mission Valley has sold for more than $49 million, marking the second hotel deal in a week. Built in 1970, the Doubletree San Diego-Hotel Circle was sold to Oak Coast Properties, a four-year-old investment firm that invests in retail, residential and hotel properties. Also selling in the last week was The Grand Del Mar, one of San Diego’s top luxury resorts. Purchasing the Carmel Valley property was financier Richard Blum’s private equity firm, Blum Capital, although the seller, “Papa” Doug Manchester – who is also publisher of U-T San Diego – will retain a minority stake. The transaction valued the 400-acre resort at $230 million. The sale of the Doubletree involved two transactions, one a leasehold and the other land, which together totaled $49.25 million, according to CoStar Group, which documents commercial real estate transactions. The eight-story hotel property includes the Panini Restaurant, meeting and event space, an outdoor pool and spa, and a five-story parking garage. “This was an opportunity for us to acquire a well-positioned asset with a world class brand in a very strong sub market of San Diego, Mission Valley,” said Phillip Nahas, a managing partner with Oak Coast. “San Diego’s…

The forecast for San Diego’s tourism industry in 2015 is bright with a few clouds. The sunny outlook for the year was presented March 20 at Carmel Valley’s R.A. Rauch and Associates’ annual lodging industry event, “An Extraordinary Year Ahead,” at the Hilton Garden Inn in Torrey Hills. The event featured a discussion moderated by Gary London from The London Group Realty Advisors with two experts in the hotel sector: longtime Carmel Valley resident Robert Rauch of R.A. Rauch, and Alan Reay from Atlas Hospitality Group, a specialist in capital markets and a leading hotel industry adviser. “I think this is going to be the best year we’ve ever had in the U.S.,” Rauch said. San Diego finished 2014 at 74.6 percent occupancy, higher than the national average, and is forecast to surpass 75 percent this year. Rauch said they had a record year at his Hilton Garden Inn and at Homewood Suites next door. Many attendees at the forecast event were interested in learning more about the impact of Airbnb, an online vacation rental platform, in which rooms and in some cases entire houses are rented by the night in residential communities by the homeowner. A quick search for…

the latest breed of hotel, rooms are up to one-third smaller than traditional quarters, with furniture that looks fresh from an Ikea showroom. The work desk is downsized and might double as a nightstand. The Internet speed is super fast. The Wi-Fi is free. Power outlets and USB ports dot the walls, especially near the bed to accommodate binge watching. The target is the millennial traveler, ages 18 to 34, who likes to stay connected online, eat on the run and commune with other millennials. Hotel giants, including Marriott International and Hilton Worldwide, are launching brands with names such as Moxy, AC, Edition, CitizenM and Canopy. Even billionaire Sir Richard Branson has a new millennial-oriented chain, dubbed Virgin Hotels. For good reason: Millennials number more than 75 million in the U.S., and this year the Census Bureau projects they will surpass baby boomers as the nation’s largest generation.Plus, they have money to blow. U.S. millennials plan to spend about $226 billion this year on travel, according to a Harris Poll survey. “I think it’s definitely a smart move,” said hotel consultant Alan Reay of Atlas Hospitality Group in Costa Mesa. “It’s a huge market.” Creating a millennial hotel means tossing…