SAN FRANCISCO— HOTEL BUSINESS® has learned Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group LLC, a private equity investment firm, recently acquired four hotels in Japan from Japanese retailer Daiei in a joint venture with Goldman Sachs Realty Japan, Ltd. The portfolio consists of three owned hotels with 1,097 rooms operated under the Oriental Hotel brand, including: the Shin-Urayasu Oriental Hotel near Tokyo Disneyland, Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel, Namba Oriental Hotel, both in western Japan; and an operating lease interest in the 197-room Hotel Centraza Hakata in southern Japan. “This portfolio is highly regarded for its superior quality, excellent locations and strong operating performance,” said Robert Kline, president/Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group. “The Daiei portfolio is the largest, highest quality hotel portfolio to change hands in Japan in recent memory.” Oxford Lodging will jointly oversee asset management of the portfolio, taking an active role in the near term. The company said there is potential to reposition the hotels with modern operating practices, particularly in the areas of centralized procurement, demand distribution and yield management. “Our research has identified the Japanese hotel market as currently having early cycle characteristics that we deem attractive on a risk-reward basis. Because many key operating strategies, such as revenue management, have yet to be implemented at the acquired properties, we believe we can position these assets to achieve above-average growth in cash flow as the market gradually recovers,” said Mark Mutkoski, formerly Lodging & Gaming Analyst for Deutsche Bank, who now serves as svp/principal for Oxford Lodging. Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group, LLC is advisor to strategic institutional and select private investors, with an exclusive focus on the hospitality sector. Oxford Lodging currently oversees a hotel portfolio of 12 hotels aggregating over $1.1 billion of value. — Shannon McMullen
