The sale of the Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham near the Buffalo Airport was on life support. Securing financing for struggling hotels is very difficult in the current environment.
The broker, Bryce Cherko of Cherko Fusco Realty, and the buyer, Jay Patel of Rudra Management, decided the only way to bring the hotel to a profitable level was to rebrand. But they had to convince the bank this was even possible, considering the hotel was losing money.
Many buyers might have thrown in the towel and walked away from such a complex deal. However, Patel's track record and status as one of the largest hotel operators in central New York carried the day and convinced the lender of his ability to execute. As a result, the Hawthorn Suites sale between Patel's Rudra Management and Scott Enterprises went through to a successful closing.
The deal closed just after Rudra Management acquired another hotel, a SpringHill Suites, also from Scott Enterprises. The buyer is planning to up-brand the suite hotels at some point, including significant renovations, and reposition the properties to generate higher revenue while improving operational efficiency.
In recognition, earned a 2025 CoStar Impact Award for sale of the year in the Buffalo market, as judged by a panel local real estate professionals, for persevering in closing a large sale transaction in the current environment.
What the judges said: "This project showcases the creativity and an openness to flexibility are key strategies needed to close deals in the current environment," said Brandye Merriweather of the Buffalo Urban Development Corp.
"Financing failing hotels is difficult. Finding the financing, renovating and rebranding to turn around this hotel was an obvious challenge. Very glad to see it closed and hoping for a good future ahead," added Margaret Tuerk of Iskalo Development Corp.
They made it happen: Bryce Cherko, investment sales advisor of Cherko Fusco Realty, arranged the sale of the two hotels on behalf of Scott Enterprises, the seller.
CoStar Market Manager Coleman Applegate contributed to this report.