Joe McCann, president of Optimum Hotel Brokerage in Elkins Park, PA, tells GlobeSt.com that the recovery of the Boston hotel market, which has lagged behind New York and Washington, DC, is being fueled by increased lodging demand and higher room rates that has pushed the market into a "full-stride recovery."
Since 2005, at least eight hotel properties have been sold in the Greater Boston area, making it one of the hottest times for hotel investors in the city's history, Kindle says.
The wave of sales hasn't abated as evident from this week's deals. Buyers have reached sales agreements on two Boston luxury hotels and a third property in Cambridge could soon be on the market.
Bethesda, MD-based Diamond Rock Hospitality Co. has agreed to pay $330.3 million for the 793-key Westin Waterfront Boston Hotel, as reported by GlobeSt.com. The firm will also take 100,000 sf of retail space and the rights to build a 325-room hotel on an adjacent parcel as part of that deal.
Additionally, CapStar Hotel Co. of Arlington, VA is expected to close soon on the 148-room Copley Square Hotel in the Back Bay. The Hotel at MIT, a 210-room property in Cambridge operated by Doubletree, could soon come on the market, according to Lou Plasencia, with the Plasencia Group in Tampa, FL.
In November, the Ritz Carlton was acquired for $170 million by Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces of Mumbai, India. The company took possession of the building on Thursday and has begun implementing its personal touch, to what is now called the Taj Boston, by changing the staff uniforms, hiring a new executive chef and removing the Ritz's trademark brass lions.
Helping to fuel all that demand is the strong market fundamentals that are expected to boost per-room revenue rates over the next three to four years, Kindl says.
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