The Real Deal
12/26/18

Here Are LA County’s Top Five Hotel Investment Sales of 2018
Franchise-branded hotels dominated the top sales, and 3 were near booming tech hubs
By Dennis Lynch

https://therealdeal.com/la/2018/12/26/here-are-la-countys-top-five-hotel-investment-sales-of-2018

Westside hotels were all the rage this year.

Three of the top five hotel sales of the year were for properties in what has has become the tech epicenter of Los Angeles. All three are branded Doubletree by Hilton hotels, a nationally franchised brand. Hilton has owned the Doubletree brand since 1999. It is its fastest growing brand worldwide since 2007.

The other two top hotel sales were branded Courtyard by Marriott, a testament to the strength of national franchises.

Hotel development is strong across Los Angeles and California, thanks to high occupancy rates. As of July, there were 37 hotels with 5,631 rooms under construction in L.A. Four had already opened in the first half of the year.

Development has been strong in spite of rising construction costs. As many as 10,000 new hotel rooms are expected to come online across the state in the next few years, analysts at Atlas Hospitality Group said earlier this year. But that number could rise even higher. In L.A. alone, developers have plans to build around 33,500 rooms over the next few years.

Doubletree by Hilton, Santa Monica — Westmont Hospitality Group and Square Mile Capital Management | $154M

In October, Canada-based Westmont and New York’s Square Mile Capital picked up this 253-room hotel for around $608,700 per room. The hotel, which has eight stories and 206,000 square feet, is located near downtown Santa Monica at 1707 4th Street.

The sellers were Merion Realty partners and Procaccianti Companies, based out of Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, respectively.

Doubletree by Hilton, Culver City — Woodbine Development | $151.5M

Woodbine picked up the Culver City Doubletree in July for around $404,000 for each of its 375 rooms. The Carlyle Group was the seller. Months later it was revealed Woodbine had bigger plans for property.

The 12-story hotel, with 225,000 square feet, is located at 616 W. Centinela Avenue on the edge of Culver City. In November, Woodbine sold the parking lot to Lincoln Property Company, which then revealed plans for a $225 million tech-minded spec office building there. Woodbine joined in as a partner on the project.

Hotel Marina del Rey — London and Regional Partners | $127M

The Hotel Marina del Rey, commonly called the Hotel MdR, is also branded Doubletree by Hilton. London and Regional paid around $533,600 per room for the hotel, which is located on five acres at 13480 Maxella Avenue just across Route 1 from the marina.

The seller was Channel West Group, a joint venture of Arris Investments and San Clemente’s Evolution Hospital, which rebranded it as a Doubletree from a Courtyard by Marriott.

Marriott Warner Center — Southwest Value Partners | $122M

In October, San Diego-based Southwest Value Partners paid around $255,200 per room for the Woodland Hills hotel at 21850 Oxnard Street. The seller was Laurus Corp, based in Century City. Laurus bought the hotel in 2014 for $89.7 million and undertook a $10 million renovation.

Demand for hotel rooms in the area will likely rise in the coming years, as developers build residential, retail, and office development in Warner Center. A number of large trades have gone down there since the Warner Center 2035 master plan was adopted in 2013. The plan up-zoned a large swath around the San Fernando Valley community.

Courtyard by Marriott Long Beach Airport — Harbor Hotels| $46.9M

The 159-room Long Beach hotel sold in November for around $295,000 per room to Harbor Hotels, an Arizona outfit. The seller was Mach II Chartres Long Beach, an entity registered in Delaware.

As its name suggests, the hotel is located near Long Beach Airport. That was a key factor for Harbor Hotels’ investment, said Rod Apodaca, a senior vice president at CBRE, which arranged the sale.

“This hotel is in an exceptional location, plus the quality of the Marriott brand was a major factor in the buyer’s decision-making process,” he said.