Blackstone, billed as the world’s largest commercial property owner, is buying Kimpton Hotel Eventi in Manhattan for $175 million in the NoMad neighborhood in Manhattan.
The purchase of the 292-key hotel, located at 851 Sixth Ave. between 29th and 30th streets, comes as New York’s tourism industry, hard hit in the pandemic, is approaching “a full recovery,” as the city's tourism marketing arm reported that the visitor level last year reached 97% of its record-setting level pre-pandemic and is expected to top the 2019 level in 2025. New York’s hotel occupancy rate has recovered to about 88% in contrast to the U.S. hotel occupancy rate of 53%, according to CoStar data. New York’s average daily rate of more than $440 per room also is nearly three times the national average of about $156, CoStar data shows.
The hotel is “located in one of the most dynamic areas of Manhattan,” Blackstone Managing Director Michelle Gelshteyn said in an emailed statement to CoStar News. “This transaction reflects our longstanding conviction in New York City and growth in travel. Hotel demand in New York is nearing pre-COVID levels while no new hotel construction permits have been filed in the last three years, creating a compelling backdrop for fundamentals.”
Blackstone is buying the hotel from DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, with hotel company IHG to continue to operate the property through the Kimpton brand, a Blackstone spokesperson told CoStar News, adding that New York’s hotel industry also has materially less future supply than the long-term historical average.
The planned purchase comes on the heels of Blackstone’s November purchase of a four-property retail portfolio for $197.5 million in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, one of the major shopping corridors that has led the city in a retail rebound from the fallout of the pandemic. In another sign of the company’s bet on New York, Blackstone last year also said it’s expanding its headquarters footprint in Manhattan.
Meanwhile, Blackstone has been adding to its hotel holdings elsewhere, including its 2024 purchases of W Fort Lauderdale and Hyatt Regency Clearwater in Florida. It also has bought hotels in Japan in recent years and in June announced it bought Village Hotels, a hotel owner, operator and developer, in Europe.