Essex House Deal Tops C&W’s Mid-Year Hotel Sales Report

NEW YORK— Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.’s mid-year “Select Significant 2005 U.S. Hotel Sales” rankings have been released and topping the list is the recent disposition of the 501-room Essex House-Westin in New York. The hotel was sold by Strategic Hotel Capital to Dubai Investment Group and Oxford Lodging Group for $440 million. The C&W listing, which is produced by the firm’s hospitality and gaming group, does not include hotel sales that were part of larger portfolio transactions. It also does not include sales below the $10-million mark. Rounding out the top 10 deals are, respectively, the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington ($300 million); Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach, FL ($275 million); Palmer House Hilton in Chicago ($250 million); Park Central Hotel in New York ($215 million); Rihga Royal in New York ($183 million); Fairmont Chicago in Chicago ($154.7 million); Crowne Plaza Royal Palm Hotel in Miami Beach, FL ($127.5 million); Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel in Honolulu ($107 million); and Eden Roc Resort & Spa in Miami Beach, FL ($100 million). Regarding the top 10 deals, Lehman Brothers was the seller of both the Park Central Hotel and Rihga Royal in New York. While Strategic Hotel Capital was the seller in the Essex House deal, the REIT did also acquire the Fairmont Chicago. Furthermore, three of the top 10 deals were in New York, three were in Miami Beach and two were in Chicago.