Atlas in the news

ANAHEIM – The Walt Disney Co. has purchased a hotel that sits directly across Harbor Boulevard from its two theme parks for $32 million, according to public records. Disney, through a limited-liability corporation, Carousel Holdings EAT, purchased the 131-room Carousel Inn & Suites on 1530 S. Harbor Blvd. from Good Hope International. Messages to Good Hope representatives for comment were not returned on Wednesday. A Carousel Inn manager said he was unaware of the sale. A Disneyland spokeswoman confirmed the purchase. Sandwiched between the Pizza Press restaurant and the Tropicana Inn & Suites, the five-story hotel features a rooftop pool and guest rooms ranging in size from 300 to 700 square feet. Guests typically pay $109 to $400 per night. Disney finalized the purchase on March 23, according to public records. “The Walt Disney Co. saw this as a strategic investment, as opportunities to purchase properties in close proximity to the resort are extremely rare,” said Suzi Brown, a Disneyland spokeswoman. Brown said the current management will continue to operate the Carousel Inn. She added that Disney has no long-term plans for the property at this time. “I think whatever they have in mind will be good for the resort…

A year after taking over full ownership of the Hotel del Coronado, Strategic Hotels and Resorts has decided to unload its interest in the Hyatt Regency La Jolla in a deal valued at $118 million. The Chicago-based real estate investment firm, along with its joint venture partner, which is affiliated with the government of Singapore Investment Corp., announced on Tuesday its intent to sell the 417-room hotel to affiliates of Walton Street Capital and JMA Ventures. The sale, which will allow the Strategic joint venture to retire more than $89 million in debt, is expected to close some time during the second quarter of this year. In its announcement, Strategic said little about what was driving the planned sale, other than to indicate it is part of its overall strategy to part with its “non-core assets.” The move, though, appears to be guided by its growing interest in high end resort properties, said hotel analyst Alan Reay. In January, Strategic purchased the 250-room Montage Laguna Beach for $360 million and at the time assumed a $150 million mortgage. It also owns a number of other marquee properties like the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel and the Loews Santa Monica Beach….

Strategic Hotels & Resorts and its joint partner are selling the 419-room Hyatt Regency La Jolla for a reported $118 million Source: http://www.sddt.com/RealEstate/article.cfm?SourceCode=20150428czh&_t=Hyatt+Regency+La+Jolla+selling+for+118+million#Article

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…

San Diego hotel guru Robert Rauch predicted Friday that 2015 will turn out to be the best year for the hotel industry in San Diego and nationwide. “This is going to be the best year that the hotel industry ever had in the United states by a wide margin,” said Rauch, a hospitality professor and hotel developer. “I’m very bullish on 2015 and 2016.” He said occupancy rates nationally are at a record 65 percent — and even higher in San Diego at 75.5 percent — allowing hotel operators to raise rates. San Diego hotel guru Robert Rauch. “When you get occupancy levels up at a certain point, you raise rates. Now is the time to raise rates,” he explained. Rauch spoke to some 100 hotel operators and suppliers at an annual forecast conference in Carmel Valley organized by his firm R.A. Rauch & Associates. Rauch said strong markets in San Diego include downtown, the Interstate 5 and 15 corridors, and Mission Valley. “Conventions are back. Small conferences are back. There much more corporate travel,” he said. Alan Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality Group, also spoke at the conference and cautioned that hotel property values in some markets were dangerously high. “There is…