It’s no secret that with hotel room occupancy significantly dropping over the past year due to the economic downturn. The hotel industry has faced an extremely tough time. Hotels have been dropping room rates, selling, or simply shutting down. Need more evidence? Well, the well-known Hotel Angeleno in Brentwood, California was just sold for a price tag of $35 million.
For 35 years prior to 2006, the unique cylinder-shaped, 16 story Angeleno Hotel was actually a Holiday Inn, however, for the past 3 years, Hotel Angeleno has towered over Sunset Boulevard. Despite the recent sale, the building will continue to be operated as the Angeleno Hotel by San Francisco hotel management company Joie de Vivre.
Namco Capital Group Inc., a Los Angeles investment firm headed by Ezri Namvar sold the hotel property and even though the hotel was reportedly not in bankruptcy. It is assumed that due to the apparent national drop in room occupancy, the owners of Hotel Angeleno were no exception to the rule and presumably had trouble making payments on loans which they may have taken out to acquire or refinance their properties, comments David M. Brudney of Carlsbad, an industry consultant. He adds, “Not enough money is being generated by hotels to support these loans.”
Since the recent market peak, the Angeleno is reported to have lost between 10 and 15% of its value, however the sale of the hotel remains somewhat suspicious since it is also noted that while occupancy was down in the hotel, relative to the rest of the market it was performing quite well. Despite this, the Angeleno is changing management and guests will have to wait and see what the new owners make of the towering Brentwood building.
Via: Los Angeles Times
