Hotel & Motel Management - April 21, 2008 - (Page 33)

www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition HotelMotel.com | H&MM April 21, 2008 Transactions FINANCING On behalf of United Capital Corp., Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels arranged a $7.5million, 10-year ﬁxed-rate loan to recapitalize the recently renovated Wellesley Inn Atlanta Airport. Rockbridge Capital LLC closed on a $20.5-million ﬁrst mortgage investment to ﬁnance the acquisition of the 175-room Doubletree Hotel in Greensboro, N.C. The sponsor is Milestone Hotel Partners of Boca Raton, Fla. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels will provide Thor Equities with investment advisory and asset management services on the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. Thor is nearing completion on a $150-million renovation, restoration and repositioning of the 1,640-room property. Paciﬁca Capital & Brokerage arranged construction and permanent ﬁnancing for the 100-room Comfort Suites property currently under development in Ontario, Calif. Compiled by Emily Hanna, ehanna@questex.com 33 ACQUISITIONS Ashford Hospitality Trust completed the previously disclosed sale of the JW Marriott New Orleans for $67.5 million in cash and assumed debt. HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, an afﬁliate of The Blackstone Group LP. RMC National Interests purchased the hotel for an undisclosed amount. A Tulsa, Okla.-based developer sold the 102-room Hampton Inn & Suites Tulsa South-Bixby (Okla.) to an afﬁliate of the Apple REIT Cos. for an undisclosed amount. Neptune Hospitality Advisors arranged the sale. Pioneer Realty & Investments of Artesia, Calif., arranged the sale of the 96-unit Residence Inn of Toledo, Ohio, to Ajam. The property will become a Studio 6 extended-stay hotel. The Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio, became the nation’s largest waterpark with the opening of its additional 93,000-square-foot expansion. The park previously was 80,000 square feet. Kalahari Resorts owns the property. Choice Hotels International opened 36 franchised properties in December, including hotels in 19 states and territories and ﬁve countries. grand opening in January. The property is owned by Steve Sparks. Key West Inns opened The Suites at Key Largo (Fla.), a 40-room property owned by Supertel Hospitality. NYLO Hotels opened its ﬁrst property, NYLO Plano (Texas) at Legacy in North Dallas. JHM Hotels opened the 130suite SpringHill Suites at the Orlando International Airport in January. Accor North America sold the 67-room Motel 6 in Augusta, Maine, to a New Jersey-based owner and operator, who will retain the property as a Motel 6 under franchise agreement with Accor. Optimum Hotel Brokerage closed the sale. The Miami and Houston ofﬁces of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP closed the sale of and ﬁnancing for the 302-room Marriott Houston West Loop. The 114-suite SpringHill Suites by Marriott opened in Norfolk, Va., in January. The SpringHill Suites Old Dominion University Village is owned by BBL and managed by Ocean Hospitalities. The eight-story, 226-suite Embassy Suites East Peoria (Ill.) Hotel & Conference Center opened in January. Peoria’s ﬁrst full-service hotel in more than 50 years is owned by John Q. Hammons and is managed by John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts. A newly constructed 99-room Wingate by Wyndham hotel in Henderson, Nev., held its The Red Roof Inn Brattleboro (Vt.) opened in January. The Nanak Hotel Group owns the 98-room hotel. Hampton, including Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites hotels, opened 13 properties in December, representing 1,274 new rooms. All openings were franchised, newly constructed hotels. Torgerson Properties opened the 115-room Courtyard by Marriott Maple Grove/Arbor Lakes (Minn.) in January. OPENINGS Transactions Want your deal to be listed in transactions? Please include the following items: the property or properties involved; the buyer(s); the seller(s); and the purchase price if applicable. Send releases to Emily Hanna, associate editor at ehanna@questex.com. SEND US YOUR A 60-room Sleep Inn and Suites opened in North Charleston, S.C., in December. The hotel is owned by Maitri Group LLC and managed by EPH Management & Development. A Red Roof Inn in Montgomery, Ala., opened in January. Montgomery Ventures LLC owns the property. Choice succession pears to me that Chuck and his team have established a similar approach.” Brand segmentation and differentiaContinued from page 1 tion is another area of focus for Joyce. It’s a growth phase, according to the company. strength he sees in the company already. What that means, exactly, is still too early to tell, “Taking [the strength of the Choice but Joyce has plenty of ideas. platform] and trying to accelerate growth His goals for franchising success and global is the biggest challenge that all hotel comgrowth are directly related to his experience. His panies have,” Joyce said. “Choice in parmost recent role at Marriott was as executive v.p., ticular is well-positioned to take off on the global development/owner and franchise services. growth it’s been having over the last sever“Choice has some very interesting global growth al years. There is potential for the brands it going on now,” he said. “They have a number of Ledsinger has, and potential for other ones.” CHOICE HOTELS partnerships and programs working. I’m hoping With four properties open and 65 unto bring in my expertise from Marriott to accelerder development, the Cambria Suites ate that.” brand will continue to be a hot one for At the end of 2007, the company had 89 hoChoice, Joyce said. It’s a brand developers tels comprising 8,640 guestrooms under developalready ask him about frequently. ment in more than 15 countries outside of the Unit“Cambria’s going to be an oppored States. tunity for accelerated growth, but I see Choice franchises all of its properties, so frangrowth [for other brands, too],” he said. chisee/franchisor relationships are vital to any cor“MainStay Suites is a strong brand. Sleep porate growth initiatives. Joyce said his Marriott Inn has a lot of potential. Comfort Inn Haase experience will serve him well in the franchise are- CHOICE HOTELS and Comfort Suites is one of the main prona as well. grams [for Choice] and I know the company “It was a transition for Marriott to move to a is working on continuing to make that brand platform with franchisees and owners to where they were strong and relevant. Comfort has interesting internationintegrated into the decision making and felt it was a collab- al potential.” orative process,” he said. “I’ve seen that as beneﬁcial. What In the short term, Joyce said he looks forward to you get is a nice blend of where the brands should go. It ap- building on growth. “I want to translate the skills I devel- Choice by the numbers Brand Hotels open Hotels under development 309 282 120 143 48 65 53 78 54 71 No. of guestrooms open and under development 164,446 60,007 129,053 38,224 44,779 8,602 7,017 11,011 56,107 20,724 Comfort Inn 1,976 Comfort Suites 491 Quality 1,210 Sleep Inn 370 Clarion 282 Cambria Suites 4 MainStay Suites 30 Suburban Extended Stay Hotels 54 Econo Lodge Rodeway Inn 870 282 Source: Choice Hotels International, numbers reported as of Dec. 31, 2007 oped at Marriott into Choice’s platform, to help it grow and get to the next level,” he said. “Choice has a reputation for having a great set of leaders focusing on the business,” Joyce said. “I’m here to continue executing what’s there, then add to it. This is not a turnaround; this is a really successful platform.” sricca@questex.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://HotelMotel.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - April 21, 2008

Hotel & Motel Management - April 21, 2008 Contents Vista Affirms Fair Franchising Doctrine HOTEC Panel Explores Green Procurement Spa Revenue Drives Overall Profitability Perspective Legal FAQ Sales Clinic Travel Trends Guest Column Trends & Stats Owners and Operators Feel Pressure to Switch to HD Protect and Clean Stone Floors Coffee On Demand Fitness Equipment Experts Weigh New Builds Vs. Conversions Transactions Ad/Edit Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - April 21, 2008

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