Blackstone Acquires Nationwide Select-Service Portfolio

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

The Blackstone Group has acquired a 15-hotel portfolio comprising 1,856 keys located in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Pennsylvania and metropolitan Washington D.C., from OTO Development L.L.C.

Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group represented the seller in the transaction. The price was not disclosed.

“The properties were all well-branded featuring either Marriott, Hilton or Hyatt upscale select service brands,” Mark Fair, Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group’s managing director, told Commercial Property Executive. “In addition, they averaged less than five years in age, very unusual compared to other portfolios which have previously been offered to the market.”

Statistics by JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group show that select service hotel trades increased 145 percent during the first eight months of 2013 and this momentum has continued into 2014.

The hotels consisted of Hampton Inn & Suites Thousand Oaks, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Hyatt Place Los Angeles/LAX/El Segundo, El Segundo, Calif.; Residence Inn Camarillo, Camarillo, Calif.; SpringHill Suites Irvine John Wayne Airport Irvine/Orange County, Irvine, Calif.; Residence Inn San Diego North /San Marcos, San Marcos, Calif.; Homewood Suites Fresno, Fresno, Calif.; SpringHill Suites Fresno, Fresno, Calif.,; Residence Inn Birmingham Hoover, Birmingham, Ala.; SpringHill Suites Birmingham Colonnade, Birmingham, Ala.; Residence Inn Gainesville I-75, Gainesville, Fla.; Hampton Inn & Suites Mt., Gainesville, Fla.; Vernon/Belvoir-Alexandria South Area, Alexandria, Va.; SpringHill Suites Columbia, Columbia, Md.; Hampton Inn & Suites Manchester, Manchester, Conn.; SpringHill Suites Erie, Erie, Penn.; and Hampton Inn & Suites National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Md.

According to Fair, the properties had all recently stabilized and were positioned to generate very strong RevPAR growth due to their premier locations and, almost exclusively, being number one in each of their respective competitive sets.

“The locations played a significant role in its appeal to investors,” Fair said. “Of the 15 properties in the portfolio, there was a concentration of seven assets in Southern California and four in the Washington, D.C., area, both very high barrier to entry and high RevPAR markets.”

On average, the properties are less than five years old and many feature amenities including sundry shops, fitness centers, outdoor patios and business centers. A spokesperson for Blackstone said it would be completing brand mandated change-of-ownership renovations.