Rihga Closer To Sale

NEW YORK HOTEL BUSINESS. has learned that Marriott International performed a walk-through of the Rihga Royal Hotel here, which has been on the block for several months. According to a source at the hotel, Marriott executives were on site at the Rihga last week. Some industry insiders say that Thayer Lodging is interested in partnering with Marriott if a deal comes to fruition. Peter Spees at Lazard Freres, which is representing Rihga ownership on potential strategic options for the hotel, said that “there have been some discussions with potential investors.” However, he would not give the names of the interested parties. He did say that “weve been working with Royal for several months so you would think we must be getting close to some [deal].” (12/18/00) Shannon McMullen