Latest news: Ashford sells in Boston; big Travelodge deal closes; Casa Cipriani refinance

Ashford sells Boston property. During its fourth-quarter earnings call, Dallas-based Ashford Hospitality Trust said it had signed a definitive agreement to sell the 390-key Hilton Boston Back Bay in Boston for $171 million to an undisclosed buyer. The sale is expected to be completed in March. The company expects its net proceeds to be $70 million after closing. The REIT also said it had operating losses of $13.3 million for the fourth quarter and $31.3 million for 2023. Click here for other 4Q earnings news from REITs. Analysts at R.W. Baird said the progress with its asset sales is the main driver of value for the company in the future: “Ashford reported weaker 4Q23 results versus Baird/Street expectations, which was driven by higher-than-forecasted hotel-level expense growth compared to our model. Earnings have not been the primary driver of stock price performance in recent quarters — the balance sheet, deleveraging efforts, and capital allocation have been. Positively, Ashford is making tangible progress on the asset sales front and should be in a position to repay the Oaktree financing within the next few months, in our view.” Baird also offered more detail on Ashford’s dispositions and the Oaktree financing: “Ashford has stepped up its disposition efforts over the last approximately 90 days, and tangible progress is being made. Five hotels are subject to a definitive agreement, and one is under LOI. If all six hotels are sold as expected, total gross proceeds would be $225 million (net proceeds would be approximately $85-$90 million). Ashford has $165 million of unrestricted cash on hand, continues to raise non-traded preferred equity, and expects a refinancing of Renaissance Nashville to result in substantial excess net proceeds. The Oaktree loan has a $183.1 million principal balance (14% interest rate), and the exit fee would be an incremental $30 million cost to Ashford.”

Sale of 66 Travelodge hotels complete. London-based LXi REIT PLC has now completed the sale of 66 Travelodge hotels to the Travelodge Group for £210 million. LXi will use the proceeds to pay down debt. Travelodge will reduce its proportion of group rent to 11% from 18%. In January, Travelodge CEO Jo Boydell said, “The new structure will provide us with a platform to explore further freehold acquisitions. We have nearly four decades of expertise in operating budget hotels, and we look forward to continuing to invest in our hotel network to drive growth.”

NYC’s Casa Cipriani refinances. Casa Cipriani, a 47-key boutique hotel, private members club, and event space in New York City, has been refinanced with a $103 million CMBS loan from Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, and Argentic. Walker & Dunlop New York Capital Markets teams secured the financing for the owners, a trio of New York City-based companies — Cipriani, Midtown Equities and Centaur Properties. Originally known as the Battery Maritime Building and built in 1909, it was redeveloped to its current form in 2021.

Accor adds in Prague. Accor and Paris-based Courbet have signed an agreement for Accor to assume management of The Mozart Prague hotel. Following a renovation, the hotel will join the Sofitel Legend brand, which is a collection of historic luxury hotels. Courbet owns The Mozart Prague, which dates back to the 17th century. The hotel is expected to reopen in 2027.

Record fees for Ascott Ltd. The Ascott Ltd., wholly owned by CapitaLand Investment (CLI), announced record fees of S$331 million for 2023, a 28% increase year-over-year. Ascott also achieved a record number of 2023 property openings with nearly 9,600 rooms, adding that revenue per available unit (RevPAU) grew over 20% YOY in 2023 with higher ADR and occupancy. Ascott said it opened 77 new properties over the past year, which surpassed its year-end target, and it secured 160,000 rooms earlier than expected.

PPHE has record revenue. Netherlands-based PPHE Hotel Group said its revenue increased 25.6% year-over-year in 2023 to a record £414.6 million. PPHE said during its fourth-quarter earnings that RevPAR was up 25.5% YOY, ADR increased 4%, and occupancy was up to 72.4% in 2023 compared to 60% in 2022. It has a £300-plus million pipeline with openings planned for London, Croatia, Serbia, Germany and Italy.

Mixed results for U.S. hotels. U.S. hotels showed mixed results for the week of February 18-24, according to CoStar. Year-over-year, occupancy was down 3.3% to 62%, ADR was up slightly 0.3% to $156.62, and RevPAR was down 2.9% to $97.12. Year-over-year results among the top 25 markets, Minneapolis saw the biggest jump in occupancy (up 4.5% to 47.8%), while Las Vegas (up 7.5% to $203.52) and Oahu Island (up 7.5% to $303.54) had the highest ADR growth. The steepest RevPAR declines were in New Orleans (down 22.1% to $128.09) and Nashville (down 20.2% to $104.30).

Choice cash dividend. Choice Hotels International announced a cash dividend of $0.2875 per share on the company’s common stock, payable to shareholders on April 17.

Marriott debuts Renaissance in Hawaii. Marriott is adding its first Renaissance hotel in Hawaii with the 187-key Renaissance Honolulu. The 39-story building also has 112 branded residences. Highgate is managing the property.