By Thor Kamban Biberman | Tuesday, February 4, 2025

San Diego County’s hotel market is far from perfect, but it looked considerably better than some other areas of the state in 2024, according to Atlas Hospitality Group.

Atlas Hospitality Group President Alan Reay, who has seen hotel values collapse in some places by as much as two-thirds in recent years, said there are 357 hotels in the state that are on a watch list for potential trouble. Of those, 43 have loans that are delinquent.

However, San Diego “doesn’t have any hotels that are on a watch list,” Reay said.

While the Atlas Hospitality report didn’t cite any distressed sales here, the hospitality industry watcher said the most expensive “sale” in California involved the 686-room Hyatt Regency in downtown San Francisco, which was transferred back to the lender via a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure for $290 million.

In San Diego County, individual sales dropped by 19 percent last year, but the total dollar sales volume rose by 35 percent in 2024 as the median price-per-room increased 13 percent.

The hotel with the largest sale price in San Diego County last year was the 394-room Hilton La Jolla in Torrey Pines, which sold for $165 million.

The number of hotel transactions in Los Angeles County last year increased slightly from 34 to 36 while the total dollar volume declined 58 percent year-over-year to $485.9 million, according to Atlas Hospitality.

Los Angeles’ median price-per-room decreased 2 percent on an annual basis in 2024. The 176-room Residence Inn Manhattan Beach fetched the highest price in the region at $68 million, the report stated.

Individual hotel sales in Orange County held steady at 14, but the total dollar volume more than doubled, rising from $246.9 million in 2023 to $631.1 million in 2024. The median price-per-room increased 76 percent.

The most expensive sale in Orange County last year was the 294-room Residence Inn Anaheim Resort, which sold for $179.2 million.

In Riverside County, individual hotel sales declined 9 percent year-over-year in 2024 while the total dollar volume saw a slight decrease of 5 percent. The median price-per-room in Riverside County declined 19 percent.

Riverside’s priciest hotel transaction was the 398-room Riviera Resort in Palm Springs, which sold for $58.75 million, according to Atlas Hospitality.

Northern California saw individual hotel sales decline 13.5 percent, and total dollar volume drop by 20 percent last year.

The report found individual hotel sales declined by 6.4 percent in California in 2024, and total dollar volume dropped 10.4 percent. The median price-per-room in the state was down just 0.5 percent year-over-year.

Statewide, the total dollar volume of sales was the fourth lowest in the last 15 years, according to Atlas Hospitality.

thor_biberman@sdtranscript.com