Atlas in the news

Bisnow 02/02/17 SoCal Hotel Boom Has 13,000 Rooms Rising, Nearly 1,500 in San Diego By Patricia Kirk https://www.bisnow.com/san-diego/news/hotel/socal-hotel-boom-has-13000-rooms-rising-nearly-1500-in-san-diego-70556   Southern California is experiencing a hotel boom, with more than 13,000 rooms under construction in 2016 and another 66,000 in the pipeline. Six hotels with 1,017 rooms opened in San Diego last year, up from 711 rooms in 2015. The largest was Portman Holdings’ BRIC1, a dual-branded, 400-key Marriott SpringHill Suites and Residence Inn on the downtown waterfront. Additionally, eight hotels with 1,444 rooms, including Portman’s 400-key InterContinental Hotel, were under construction in 2016, a 32% increase from the 1,091 rooms under construction the previous year. “I know it looks like a lot of hotel development, but no hotels have been built in more than a decade,” said Robert Green Co CEO Robert Green at a recent Bisnow event. He said hotel rooms added in San Diego during the current cycle will increase supply by just 2%. Developers are making up for the number of rooms that should have been added between 2010 and 2013, Atlas Hospitality president Alan Reay told the San Diego Union-Tribune. He said no hotel projects were built during the first few years after the recession ended…

GlobeSt.com 02/03/17 How Lenders View Hotel Construction Now By Carrie Rossenfeld http://www.globest.com/sites/carrierossenfeld/2017/02/03/how-lenders-view-hotel-construction-now   IRVINE, CA—Just a few years ago, it was virtually impossible to find a hotel construction lender; that has completely changed, which is why so many more projects are getting built, Atlas Hospitality Group’s president Alan Reay tells GlobeSt.com. The firm recently released its 2016 Year-End California Hotel Development Survey, which showed that California is now experiencing a boom in new hotel supply as investors and developers continue to favor new hotel construction over purchasing existing older hotels. With the rapid increase in prices, we are now seeing that hotels in most markets are trading above replacement cost, which has made new development much more attractive to investors and lenders, according to the firm. We spoke with Reay about the main takeaways from the survey and how the lending community is viewing hotel development at this point in the cycle. GlobeSt.com: What were the main takeaways from your hotel-development survey? Reay: I think the main takeaway is how quickly new hotel construction has bounced back, with a huge pipeline of deals in planning or under construction. GlobeSt.com: Was there anything in the survey that surprised you? Reay: As…

The San Diego Union-Tribune 02/01/17 Hotel Building Boom Continues in Southern California By Lori Weisberg http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/sd-fi-hotel-development-20170131-story.html   Hotel developers remain bullish on Southern California, with more than 13,000 rooms under construction during 2016, plus 66,000 more in the planning pipeline. The 12 percent growth in last year’s construction activity over 2015 is documented in a new year-end report compiled by Orange County-based Atlas Hospitality Group. Los Angeles easily rivals all other counties with 7,239 rooms currently being built, including a 900-room InterContinental nearing completion in downtown L.A. The 73-story high-rise, the largest hotel in the state to begin construction last year, is due to open in the spring. An InterContinental is also being built in downtown San Diego. At 400 rooms, it is the largest of the eight hotels that were under construction last year in the county. Those properties accounted for 1,444 rooms, a 32 percent jump in volume over the 1,091 rooms built in 2015. As evidence of the keen interest in hotel development, there are 679 hotels, with nearly 103,000 rooms statewide, in various stages of planning — a 39 percent room count increase over 2015. Credit a six-year, post-recession run-up in room revenues and escalating hotel…

The Orange County Register 01/14/17 Boutique Huntington Beach Hotel, Shorebreak, Launches $3 Million Makeover By Nancy Luna http://www.ocregister.com/articles/hotel-741129-beach-huntington.html As competition heats up along Pacific Coast Highway, Shorebreak Hotel in downtown Huntington Beach is embarking on a $3 million makeover that includes a new restaurant, expanded private dining and major décor changes to its 157 rooms. “At the end of the day, it will be a brand new property,” hotel general manager Justin Simpson…   …With travel up, room rates in California are also rising. As of November, the cost per room in California was up 6 percent year to date, according to Atlas Hospitality Group, an Irvine-based firm that tracks the hotel industry. The company doesn’t have data specific to Huntington Beach, however, room rates in nearby Newport Beach were up 1.3 percent. Anaheim hotel rates jumped 8.3 percent for the same period In downtown Huntington Beach, developers are taking advantage of the increased interest in travel…

Orange County Business Journal 01/26/17 Hotel Development Stays Strong http://www.ocbj.com/news/2017/jan/26/hotel-development-stays-strong   Orange County has 11 hotels with 1,655 rooms under construction about on par overall with the seven hotels and 1,808 the market added last year. The numbers show strong local hotel development, said Alan Reay, president of consultant and broker Atlas Hospitality Group in Irvine, which produces the annual California Hotel Development Survey. “Across the board we’re seeing development way, way up,” he said. “The price of existing hotels here is way above replacement costs,” which makes development more attractive. The slight dip in new rooms—1,655 this year compared with 1,808 last year—is due largely to the 2016 opening of Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove last year, with its 603 rooms. It’s the largest hotel by room count that opened in California in 2016. The numbers look to continue strongly for several years, the Atlas survey shows, with 40 hotels with 8,808 rooms in some stage of planning in OC.

San Francisco Business Times 01/26/17 After No Major Hotel Openings in 2016, San Francisco Set to Open Four in 2017 By Renee Frojo http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2017/01/26/hotel-construction-hospitality-bay-area-rick-swig.html The Bay Area’s hotly anticipated hospitality boom will finally become reality this year, as a slew of new hotels open. Across the Bay Area, 10 new hotels are gearing up to welcome guests before December, adding an estimated 1,774 rooms to the market from San Francisco to Menlo Park. They include a mix of boutique, luxury and select-service properties with a wide range of amenities and trendy technologies. According to a report from Atlas Hospitality Group, no major hotels opened in San Francisco in 2016 and only one major property (with 174 rooms) opened in 2015. In San Francisco, hotels coming online this year are mostly clustered around SoMa and Mid-Market. While none of the projects are the big conference hotels the city desperately needs, according to hotel consultant Rick Swig, they will still bring more outsiders to neighborhood in transition…

San Diego Business Journal 01/25/17 Report: County Saw 43 Percent Boost in New Hotel Room Development in 2016 By Lou Hirsh http://sdbj.com/news/2017/jan/25/report-county-saw-43-percent-boost-new-hotel-room-/ San Diego County added more than 1,000 new hotel rooms to its inventory during 2016, an increase of 43 percent from the number added in 2015, according to the latest year-end California hotel development survey from brokerage and research firm Atlas Hospitality Group. The report said San Diego County added six hotels with 1,017 rooms during 2016, up from the six hotels with 711 rooms opened in the prior year. The local region’s largest hotel to open during 2016 was the 253-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott in downtown San Diego, which is part of a dual-brand property that also includes a 147-room Residence Inn by Marriott on the former site of the Lane Field ballpark. Atlas officials said there are currently eight hotels with 1,444 rooms under construction in San Diego County, the largest of which is the 400-room InterContinental San Diego, underway in the second phase of the Lane Field development. The county at the end of 2016 had 72 other hotels with 14,981 rooms in various planning stages, a 34 percent room count increase from a…

The Orange County Register 01/16/17 Hotel Industry in O.C. Off to Solid Start with New Deals in the Works By Hannah Madans http://www.ocregister.com/articles/hotel-741317-pacifica-hotels.html   It didn’t take long for the local hospitality industry to take off in the new year. Irvine-based Pacifica Hotels announced last week it had assumed operations of an iconic hotel in Santa Monica; the Irvine Marriott introduced a redesign; and developers of a hotel in San Juan Capistrano said it would open by next summer. Pacifica has assumed management of The Georgian Hotel, a retro-style, blue-and-yellow building across the street from the Santa Monica Pier. The hotel has 84 rooms and a restaurant with sweeping ocean views. The hotel, at 1415 Ocean Ave., is being renovated. Upgrades to the restaurant, bar, common areas and meeting rooms will debut in the spring, the company said. “It’s architectural integrity, coastal location, boutique style and hospitality-first ethos makes it a model addition to Pacifica Hotels portfolio,” Matt Marquis, president and CEO of Pacifica Hotels, said in a statement. Pacifica also sold the 80-room Sommerset Suites in San Diego for $19.5 million. The hotel was sold to Sentre Partners. The hotel was initially built as an apartment complex in 1986…

San Diego Business Journal 01/11/17 Hillcrest Hotel Being Converted to Apartments By Lou Hirsh http://sdbj.com/news/2017/jan/11/hillcrest-hotel-being-converted-apartments/   A Sommerset Suites Hotel in Hillcrest is slated to become a boutique apartment community after the property was recently purchased by San Diego-based SENTRE Partners. The price on the deal – not immediately disclosed by the parties – was $19.5 million, according to title documents obtained by brokerage and research firm Atlas Hospitality Group, which was not involved in the transaction. A statement from brokerage firm Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP (HFF), which represented the buyer, said SENTRE Partners plans to convert the building at 606 Washington St. into an 80-unit apartment property called The Whitson. Media reports indicate that the hotel was most recently owned by Irvine-based Pacifica Hotels and was closed as of Jan. 4. According to CoStar Group, the building was originally constructed on 0.8 acres in 1986. HFF said the property was originally designed as a boutique apartment community, and the sellers converted it into a hotel in the mid-1990s, leaving most of the apartment amenities intact, including a pool and spa, barbecue area, dining room and business center. Brokers said The Whitson will include studio and one-bedroom apartments with 96…

Bisnow 01/09/17 7 Hotels Opened in the OC Last Year with More to Come By Karen Jordan https://www.bisnow.com/orange-county/news/hotel/seven-hotels-opened-in-the-oc-last-year-with-more-to-come-69566   Hotel development was big in Orange County in 2016 and even more hotels are expected this year. Seven hotels opened, of which four were in the Anaheim Resort District, according to Irvine’s Atlas Hospitality Group. A total of 19 hotels sold last year for a combined $222.2M, the Orange County Register reports. One of the bigger deals included the 224-room Crowne Plaza Costa Mesa, which sold for $37.5M. Eleven hotels are set to open this year, according to Atlas.

Los Angeles Business Journal 01/06/17 Golden Globes Turns Up Shine at Beverly Hilton On Roll in Hollywood By Diane Haithman http://labusinessjournal.com/news/2017/jan/06/roll-hollywood/   What does the weather have to do with dessert? At the Golden Globe Awards, scheduled for Jan. 8 at the Beverly Hilton, a sunny day can wreak havoc on the sweets course at the lavish preshow dinner in the International Ballroom. Just ask Beverly Hilton executive pastry chef Thomas Henzi, who’s in charge of a 12-member team scheduled to spend the Friday and Saturday before the awards creating 30,000 individual pastries for the dinner and many ancillary parties at the hotel. “When the weather is good, the celebrities spend more time outside on the red carpet and end up with only 10 minutes to eat,” said Henzi at this week’s official unveiling of the menu for the 74th annual Golden Globes. “When it’s cold, we prepare more desserts.” That’s just a small part of the massive logistical undertaking of planning the hotel’s biggest red-carpet event among the roughly 200 it hosts each year, said Manager Michael Robertson. Sunday night’s Globes would mark the 46th time the Beverly Hilton has hosted the Hollywood event and the 42nd consecutive year…

12/29/16 The Orange County Register By Hannah Madans Orange County Saw 7 Hotels Open in 2016, with More on the Way in 2017 http://www.ocregister.com/articles/hotel-739777-hotels-room.html   Hotel development in the county saw another year of growth as properties opened, changed hands or underwent massive renovations. Seven hotels opened, according to Irvine-based Atlas Hospitality Group. Of the seven, four were in the Anaheim Resort District. Deals continued a hot streak, with 19 hotels selling for a combined $222.22 million. That’s down from $1.749 billion in deals for 27 hotels in 2015. Last year’s high number was partly a result of the Montage Laguna Beach resort being sold twice. Big hotel deals included the 306-room Hilton Irvine/Orange County Airport hotel, which sold for $80 million, and the 224-room Crowne Plaza Costa Mesa, which went for $37.5 million. Eleven hotels are scheduled to open next year, according to Atlas. “There has been a huge jump in new construction of hotels in Orange County and throughout California. This is mainly due to the increase in values of existing older hotel product, which has made it more viable to look at adding new rooms for hotel owners instead of purchasing existing hotels,” Atlas President Alan Reay…