Hotel AG announced today that the firm continues the pace of closing 1 hotel transaction every 7 days. Year-to-date closings covered several US regions and many of the top hotel brands. As of March 11th, the firm has 294 hotels on the market with 105 of the 294 under sale agreement. Approximately 70 percent of the 294 hotels are branded within the Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Starwood and Hyatt families.
“There are several large portfolios that make up a percentage of the product under contract but there are also many one off transactions we are handling for lenders, CMBS servicers, banks and financial institutions. We are in the strongest investment window I have seen in my career,” commented H. Keith Thompson, principal of Hotel AG. “I was speaking at a hotel conference two weeks ago and watched a presentation on the state of the hotel real estate market and there was not one single piece of bad news or bad forecast. During my career, I have never seen a more positive outlook and forecast for the lodging industry. While the quick response would be to wait and sell when the market hits the projected high point, I am quickly reminded of late 2007 when there were many potential sellers that chose to hold a little longer and never recovered from those decisions. Investors and owners often forget the main criteria for investing and selling is to sell when people want to buy and when debt is available and the buyer can see some upside in their investment. That's the market we have today. If the contemplated sell is to take place once the market is exhausted, there is fundamentally no reason for investors to invest. We all have a vivid memory of early 2008 and the 26 months of value decline that followed. I don't expect we will see the same type of decisions in this cycle.”
“We are seeing great traction in the hospitality real estate space today that is literally out pacing the high points of late 2006 and early 2007,” commented Andy Broad, a partner of the firm. “The gap between seller's expectation and buyer's willingness has closed, and this is the time and the market that will be remembered as one of the greatest value cycles.”
Chris Stark, also a partner of the firm, added, “We are as focused in meeting seller's timing and pricing expectations as any point my career. It’s amazing how cap rates, yield requirements and timing have compressed to make this the time to sell.”
About Hotel AG
Hotel AG is a specialized hospitality brokerage firm offering hotel specific real estate within the US. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company has 15 brokers, 19 partners and operates in 48 states. The firm conducts business with REITs, public and private companies, institutional clients and individual owner operators. Hotel AG can be found online at www.hotelassetsgroup.com.
