Though nowhere near a peak year, the U.S. hotel deals environment heated up in 2024.
Transactions had a slow start in the first quarter, but they picked up pace month after month, building momentum to what hoteliers are hoping will be a much stronger 2025.
Here's a look at some of the big deals Hotel News Now covered in 2024:
In February, a joint venture formed by Marcus Hotels & Resorts and Hempel Real Estate and Robinson Park Investments bought the 251-key Loews Minneapolis Hotel for $23.5 million, according to CoStar data. They later rebranded the property to the Lofton Hotel Minneapolis, Tapestry Collection by Hilton.
“This is an exciting opportunity to create value by investing in an attractive asset with a focused management strategy, while adding another premier destination to our portfolio of branded and independent lifestyle hotels," Marcus Hotels President Michael Evans said in the news release announcing the deal.
Hotel real estate investment trust Sunstone Hotel Investors in April bought the fee-simple interest 630-key Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk for a total purchase price of $230 million. The deal also included almost 2 acres of riverfront land and a 516-space parking garage. The hotel had recently undergone a $37 million renovation.
"The acquisition of Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk allows us to redeploy capital at a higher long-term return and is a great example of the value we can create through our investment life-cycle approach," Sunstone CEO Bryan Giglia said at the time of the deal.
Fellow REIT Host Hotels & Resorts in May bought the 215-key 1 Hotel Nashville and 506-key Embassy Suites by Hilton Nashville Downtown for $530 million in an all-cash deal. The sellers were Starwood Capital Group, Crescent Real Estate and High Street Real Estate Partners.
"With meaningful in-place cash flow, multiple demand generators and no expected near-term capital expenditure requirements, we expect the property will generate outsize growth as it stabilizes, enhancing the quality of our portfolio and driving additional value creation for our stockholders," Host President and CEO Jim Risoleo said in the news release.
During its first-quarter earnings call in May, REIT Service Properties Trust executives spoke about continuing efforts in its dispositions strategy. It sold a Country Inn and Suites in suburban Minneapolis for $6.2 million and was marketing 22 Sonesta-branded hotels with a book value of $160 million.
Also in May, London-based private equity real estate manager Henderson Park bought the 705-key Arizona Biltmore, LXR Hotels & Resorts, for $705 million. The hotel opened in 1929 and was designed by Albert Chase McArthur, who studied under famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It has undergone multiple renovations over the decades, most recently in 2021.
The Arizona Biltmore last sold in April 2018 when BRE Hotels & Resorts bought it in a three-property portfolio from Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Real Estate for a total sales price of $1.64 billion.
News broke in late May that Host Hotels & Resorts agreed to buy the 450-key Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku, Hawaii, from Blackstone Real Estate. Host would pay $680 million, with the remaining coming as key money from Marriott International for modifications to rebrand it under the Ritz-Carlton flag. The total price came to $725 million.
The deal marked Host's fifth property in Hawaii and its second major purchase of the year after its acquisition of the two hotels in Nashville.
Now called the Ritz-Carlton O'ahu Turtle Bay, the hotel underwent renovations of its guestrooms, lobby, pools, restaurants, meeting space and more in 2021. Blackstone bought it in 2018 for $332.5 million.
Full-service hotel management company EOS Hospitality in June bought the 183-key William Vale Hotel in Brooklyn for $177 million through a bankruptcy case. EOS Hospitality was the stalking horse bidder.
"The award-winning William Vale is the preeminent luxury hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The hotel's boutique setting and destination amenities showcase what we do best at EOS Hospitality," CEO Simon Mais said in the news release.
July brought yet another deal for Host Hotels & Resorts, which closed on the $233.8 million acquisition of the 1 Hotel Central Park. It signed a 25-year management agreement with the seller, Starwood Capital Group.
In likely the biggest deal of the year, Hyatt Hotels Corp. in August sold the 1,641-key Hyatt Regency Orlando for $1.07 billion to affiliates of RIDA Development Corp. and an Ares Management real estate fund. Hyatt bought the hotel in 2013 for $717 million.
As part of the deal, Hyatt retained $265 million of non-controlling preferred equity and provided $50 million in seller financing for the nearby 45-acre parcel of land. Hyatt will continue to manage the Hyatt Regency Orlando.
In September, Westmont Hospitality Group sold the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa for $137 million to Blackstone. Westmount purchased the resort in 2016 for $120.5 million.
In October, Service Properties Trust announced its plan to sell 114 of its 187 Sonesta-branded hotels to reduce debt and increase liquidity. Its strategy is to sell these properties encumbered with long-term franchise agreements.
“Given the slow recovery of our hotel portfolio in combination with our hotel capital improvement and renovation program and our deteriorating leverage metrics, we believe it is prudent to reduce the distribution to increase SVC’s liquidity and enhance our financial flexibility," said President and Chief Investment Officer Todd Hargreaves in a news release announcing the plan.
Later in October, private equity real estate investment and development company Reuben Brothers bought the W South Beach on Miami Beach for more than $400 million. The sellers were Tricap and RFR.
The property includes roughly 340 hotel and condo units. It underwent a $6 million renovation recently to its ballroom and meeting space.
Tricap bought the hotel in 2004 as a Holiday Inn for about $75 million, later renovating it to reopen as the W South Beach in 2009.
In November, REIT Ashford Hospitality Trust provided an update of its strategic financial plan, sharing it had sold more than $310 million in hotels and completed the refinancing of the Renaissance Nashville.
“We are currently working on a couple of transactions that we hope will close in the near term, and we continue to believe we have a viable path of paying off this financing entirely before the end of the year,” Ashford President and CEO Stephen Zsigray said in a news release.
CoStar data shows Marriott in November closed on its acquisition of the Sheraton Grand Chicago as part of a settlement reached with the hotel's longtime owner more than six years ago. It paid $500 million for the 1,218-key property, breaking down to $300 million for the hotel and $200 million for the land.
The price “reflects a liability that we've established on the balance sheet, frankly, years ago, as part of the overall transaction,” said Leeny Oberg, Marriott's chief financial officer and executive vice president of development, during a call with analysts earlier this year. The deal “obviously impact our available cash for the year," she added.