Hilton did not identify the buyer beyond the name CP Anchorage Hotel 2 LLC and an executive at Columbia Sussex could not be reached Friday morning for confirmation. However, the CP is known to stand for Columbia Properties, which is the name under which Columbia Sussex owns the Marriott property, it's only other hotel in Anchorage. In addition, local published reports have cited liquor licenses transfer documents that also point to Columbia Sussex.
Seattle-based hotel consultant Michael Mohn of Kennedy, & Mohn tells GlobeSt.com that his understanding is that Hilton bought the property in the middle 1990s for $67 million. The property was listed this summer by the Placentia Group of Tampa, FL, for $70 million.
"My understanding is it had four or five interested parties, most of them from the lower 48 (states) and one group from Alaska," he says. "It went pretty quick for that size and caliber of an asset in that location."
Performance of the asset probably declined during Hilton's ownership and now was the best time to sell, says Mohn. "Underwriting is as aggressive as we've ever seen it, so if you're going to take an asset off the balance sheet, this current environment is probably a good time to do it; when underwriting tightens, it's worth less."
As for Columbia Sussex, Mohn says they are now the 800-pound gorilla in the market. Between the two hotels they now about 1,000 rooms in the market, far more than any other competitor, says Mohn.
The company's 400-room Marriott is the closest hotel to the new convention center. With the Anchorage Hilton in hand, they can block out large chunks of rooms in the Marriott and still have someplace for leisure travelers to go.
"Control of that volume of inventory is significant," says Mohn. "They know market very well and have found it to be challenging but rewarding."
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
