Hotel & Motel Management - January 7, 2008 - (Page 48) 48 Special Report H&MM January 7, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition REAL-ESTATE DEVELOPMENT & INVESTMENT Capital the midscale-without-food-andbeverage brand, which completed 131 deals as of early December. Continued from page 1 Because room supply is not indevelopment teams. creasing as fast as demand, TriveHiser is familiar with the inter- di expects 2008 to be quite good national market. He said Horwath as well. recently sold a Radisson property But he said the state of the capiin Hungary and has others listed tal markets doesn’t affect La Quinin Spain and the Caribbean. He ta as much as it would luxury or knows the hospitality business at large-portfolio deals. home is in a transitional “The capital requirephase. ment is a lot less for La “What you’re going to Quinta,” he said. see [this] year, we’ll probTrivedi also sees more ably do more volume inoutside money pouring ternationally,” he said. into the U.S. throughout “There is still a lot activ2008. ity in Europe, Asia and The market “favors the Middle East. They’re the investors,” he said. Hiser still rather bullish.” HORWATH HOSPITALITY “Interest rates are predictAs the executive v.p. ed to drop again and capof franchising for La ital is available at a much Quinta Inn & Suites, Rajiv Trive- lesser or equal interest rate. At the di said 2007 was a record year for same time, the dollar is relatively declining. The return on investment is great.” Stricter lending slowed the number of deals throughout the industry in the latter part of 2007. Buyers can’t get the loan-to-cost ratios they could get six months ago, and lenders are much more conservative on the amounts and terms of a loan. As a result, much more equity is required to get a deal done. But, Trivedi said, reducing the amount of new builds and transactions might not necessarily be a bad thing. “In fact, it may end up being beneficial for the industry,” he said. “Some of the nonqualified deals that never happen will now never even come to fruition. “People who have financial track records will continue to find money as they always have, but people dabbling in the industry Name of panel: “New Transaction Paradigms” Time of panel: 4:45-6 p.m., Jan. 28 Moderator: Michael G. Desiato, v.p., Real Estate Media Panelists: Joel W. Hiser, c.e.o., Horwath Hospitality & Leisure; Joe Long; executive v.p. of acquisitions & development, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants; Jim Merkel, managing director, RockBridge Capital; Anupam Narayan, executive v.p. and chief information officer, Red Lion Hotels; Rajiv Trivedi, executive v.p., La Quinta Inns & Suites. might find it more difficult.” that financing in 2008 still will be With 41 hotels open and op- available to those with access to eqerating, Kimpton Hotels & Res- uity capital. Some brands, howevtaurants has solidified its position er, may have to pull back projects in the industry. Joe Long, execu- that simply aren’t viable anymore. tive v.p. of acquisitions and devel“It’s back to the old adage, ‘cash opment for Kimpton, said that is king,’” Hiser said. “People who although 2007 was a great year have equity and are willing to put operationally, the credmoney up—the well-capit crunch affected Kimpitalized companies—will ton’s growth initiatives as benefit from this shakethe year wound down. up. The people who “Lenders are not lenddon’t will lose out.” ing on the same volume of Trivedi said he looks projects,” he said. “People forward to another sucare generally worried that cessful year in 2008. He the economy is predictsaid he believes peaks ed to slow down. That af- Long and valleys in the indusfects the ability to grow KIMPTON HOTELS try may be a thing of the average rate, which afpast. fects underwriting.” “We have much more research But Long agreed the crunch data available today,” he said. “We could be good for the industry. can evaluate more efficiently and “Inevitably it had to slow down banks know how to time the tighta little,” he said. ening of the belt.” The three panelists agreed jfreed@questex.com Face Lifts R.D. Olson Construction began the renovation of Coronado Island Marriott Resort in San Diego. The hotel will be open during construction. Renovations include the lobby, lounge and the hotel’s primary restaurant. More than 15,000 square feet of new construction is on the boards for the three-phase project totaling $1.8 million. The Condado Plaza Resort & Casino in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is completing multimillion-dollar renovations that include the redesigned 41,000-square-foot meeting space by Leo A Daly, a complete lobby transformation by David Rockwell, and the addition of David Rockwell’s legendary New York City restaurant Strip House. Hampton Inn & Suites Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Mo., has begun a ballroom expansion to add 3,000 square feet of space. Compiled by Heather Gunter, hgunter@questex.com CIRCLE NO. 103 http://www.HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.vistarez.com http://www.vistarez.com
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