Ashford closes on two assets for $33M

DALLAS – Ashford Hospitality Trust has closed on the sale of the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake in Houston, Texas for $27 million and the sale of the Residence Inn Evansville East in Evansville, Indiana for $6 million.

Fischer Acquisitions and Development is the reported buyer of the Hilton and is bringing a license for a Margaritaville to the project, according to the Houston Business Journal. The project is supposed to reduce room count to 170 rooms from 242 and add 30 condominiums.

For Ashford, when adjusted for its anticipated capital expenditures, the combined sale price of the two assets represents a 1.3% capitalization rate on net operating income or a multiple of 45.3 times Hotel EBITDA for the 12 months ended July 31, 2025. Excluding the anticipated capital spend, the combined sale price represents a 2.0% capitalization rate on net operating income or a multiple of 28.1 times Hotel EBITDA for the 12 months ended July 31, 2025.

Without the expected capital expenditure, the price of the combined sale reflects a 2.0% capitalization rate on net operating income, or a multiple of 28.1 times Hotel EBITDA for the same period.

“These transactions reflect our continued focus on creating shareholder value via multiple avenues,” said Ashford President and CEO Stephen Zsigray. “In addition to our GRO AHT effort aimed at driving increased performance, selling these two non-core assets has deleveraged the platform, improved the coverage metrics of our recently extended MS 17 loan pool, and increased portfolio cash flow after debt service. We anticipate pursuing similar opportunistic sales in the coming months.”

Ashford Hospitality Trust plans to pursue similar opportunistic sales in the coming months, according to the press release about the deals.

For 2Q25, Ashford Hospitality Trust reported a net loss of $39.9 million or a loss of $6.88 per diluted share. The company’s adjusted funds from operations per diluted share were recorded at $0.78.

Despite the net loss and as part of efforts to improve its balance sheet, Ashford has launched strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing future growth, including a plan targeting $50 million in EBITDA improvements.