Ashford Acquires Marriott for $107M

ARLINGTON, VA-Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the 697-room Marriott Crystal Gateway for $107 million from EADS, a partnership headed by Robert H. Smith and Arthur A. Birney. The hotel has 33,355 sf of meeting space and two food and beverage facilities. The hotel completed a $9.5-million renovation in 2002. The lobby and food and beverage areas were renovated in 2005.

Crystal Gateway is managed by Marriott International under a long-term management agreement. The acquisition is expected to close within 30 days. The seller was represented by Molinaro Koger. Ashford was self-represented.

Ashford plans to invest $13 million over the next year renovating all 697 guestrooms. “We expect this hotel to benefit from increased demand in the DC hotel market, aggressive yield and asset management, and further RevPAR penetration resulting from the recent and future capital expenditures,” says Monty Bennett, president and CEO of Ashford Hospitality Trust.