131-key Hotel Picked Up by CWI, Goes Under HRI Management

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

New York-based Carey Watermark Investors Incorporated (CWI) recently announced the acquisition of a five-property Hilton-branded hotel portfolio from Fairwood Capital LLC-managed entities. The transaction, valued at around $104 million, included $64.5 million in debt.

The portfolio includes the 131-key Hilton Garden Inn Baton Rouge Airport in Louisiana, the 105-key Hampton Inn & Suites Legacy Park-Frisco in Dallas, the 119-room Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta Downtown, the 144-room Hampton Inn & Suites Memphis-Beale Street and the 133-room Hampton Inn Birmingham-Colonnade in Alabama.

The latter three hotels are to be managed by Crescent Hotels & Resorts, while the first two have been included in HRI Lodging Inc.’s (HRIL) management portfolio. All properties were constructed between 1994 and 2004 and underwent significant renovation between 2010 and 2012.

However, HRI Lodging’s sister company HRI Construction has been tapped to handle physical improvements to CWI’s newly acquired properties. Planned work will include upgrading design features to align the hotel with contemporary design standards.

“Adding these two hotels to our portfolio is another step in HRI Lodging’s long-range growth plan… We look forward to implementing the programs and standards that have been successful at our other properties in order to maximize the performance for the owners and the customer experience for our guests,“ HRIL President Gary Gutierrez declared in a news release.

The two hotels represent New Orleans-based HRIL’s eighth and ninth properties, bringing the company’s room inventory to 1,614.

The 131-key Hilton Garden Inn Baton Rouge Airport’s amenities include a 24-hour business center, over 1,500 square feet of meeting space, fitness room, pool, lounge, bar, onsite convenience store, Wi-Fi and the onsite Great American Grill restaurant.

HRI Lodging operates hotel properties in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Virginia.

Photo courtesy of Hilton Garden Inn Baton Rouge Airport’s Google+ profile