HEI Hospitality JV Picks Up Five Hotels From Host Marriott

NORWALK, CT— HEI Hospitality here— in a joint venture with GIC Real Estate and an investment fund managed by Greenfield Partners LLC— has agreed to acquire five Marriott hotels from Host Marriott Corp. for $70 million, with the purchase of three of the properties to be consummated today while the remaining two deals are scheduled to close Mar. 12. Merritt Hospitality, a wholly owned subsidiary of HEI, has been tapped to manage the newly acquired properties. The partnership noted all five hotels— the 401-room Atlanta Marriott Northwest, the 251-room Detroit Airport Marriott, the 226-room Detroit Marriott Southfield, the 224-room Fullerton Marriott at California State University and the 222-room Atlanta Marriott Norcross— are slated to undergo significant renovations (pegged at costing more than $21 million) over the course of the next three years. “These hotels match up well with our investment model favoring first-class, full-service hotels with 200 – 500 rooms,” said Gary Mendell, chairman/CEO of HEI Hospitality. “With the completion of the planned renovations, these properties— which will remain under the Marriott flag— will be well positioned to take maximum advantage of the current rebound in the economy and return of the transient business traveler.” As pointed out by HEI Senior VP Roger Clark: “This is our first joint venture with Greenfield Partners and GIC, and we look forward to building on this new relationship.” Clark added: “HEI continues to have an aggressive appetite for acquisitions, and we actively are seeking to acquire up to an additional $750 million of hotels.” Including this transaction, HEI’s portfolio is now said to include 18 properties with 5,424 rooms.