NEW YORK CITY—MCR said Thursday it had sold 18 Marriott and Hilton assets to American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP for $407.4 million, including brand-mandated property improvement plans. Totaling 2,187 keys, the properties are located in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

“The sale of this portfolio is a reflection of MCR's investment thesis: to purchase premium branded select service and extended stay hotels, improve operations and sell opportunistically,” says Tyler Morse, MCR's CEO and managing partner. “The strong returns generated by this disposition are a testament to the performance of our industry-leading brand partners, Marriott and Hilton, and to the strength of MCR's hotel operations team.”

At Vancouver, B.C.-based AHIP, CEO Rob O'Neill cites the MCR portfolio along with five other properties the REIT has acquired in the first half of this year as evidence of a disciplined investment strategy. It's based on acquiring “premium branded, select-service hotels with stabilized in-place income, which are younger and well-maintained and where acquisition costs are below replacement cost. The 23 hotels acquired in the first six months of 2017 for approximately US$589 million are all located within high barrier-to-entry secondary metropolitan markets in close proximity to major population centers in Ohio, Texas, Arizona and along the Eastern Seaboard.”