Nugent Hotel Brokers, Inc.

Hotel Brokers International Annual Meeting

2012-01-29T17:22:00.000-08:00

This past week Hotel Brokers International (HBI), of which I'm a member, held their annual meeting in Las Vegas. It took place following the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles. Many of those at the HBI annual meeting came to it directly from ALIS. Anyway, it was interesting to hear different perspectives or take-aways from ALIS regarding our industry for 2012.

The HBI annual meeting included panel discussions by franchise and member association brands, print and electronic media, financing updates by an SBA 7(a) lender, an SBA 504 lending source, and with a non-recourse loan representative, and much, much more.

The meeting also covered new changes to HBI's website, http://www.hbihotels.com/ where prospective buyers can find over 130 hotels listed for sale throughout the country by HBI members. If you're a buyer looking to complete a 1031 exchange, a first time buyer, or one looking to buy a strong cash flowing hotel, you should make it a point to bookmark and regularly visit http://www.hbihotels.com/ It has to be one of the most comprehensive websites available for buyers to find a variety of hotels for sale.

At the same time, give me a call if you're looking to buy a hotel in the Midwest. I have six new listings with more to follow, and they range from two strong performing ABVIs to a bank owned hotel with others that fit in between that spectrum.

Financing is available for hotels as witnessed by a closing I had in the second half of December 2011 with a property that had been on the market just over three months. Plus, a second buyer recently obtained a non-bank originated SBA 7(a) loan commitment from a lender I introduced him to. And, a third buyer received preliminary bank approval for the purchase of yet another property.

As you may know, I started my own hotel brokerage business in January 2010 and joined HBI immediately. In my company's first year, I was recognized by HBI as the Portfolio Sale of the Year award winner. At last week's meeting I was presented the Top Broker for the US Central Region for 2011. Please let me know how I can be of assistance to you as either a buyer or seller. Interest rates and values are attractive for acquisitions involving varied buying criteria depending on individual circumstances.

Two Hotels Closed in the Past Two Days, Making it Four Hotels Sold in the Last 28 Days

2011-06-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

So, who's selling and buying?

Here's a brief recap on the sellers:

-The first of the four sales was by a second generation family member that inherited a motel and mobile home park. She and her husband wished to retire.
-A multi property Midwest hotel family owner that I'd sold three properties to, and sold seven hotels for, were also retiring.
-A large, diversified privately held corporate owner was selling their only hotel, which was deemed a non-core business.
-And, an experienced, multi-state hotel group that owned and operated over 20 properties was looking to sell a hotel they felt could be better operated by a local owner. This represented the eighth hotel I had sold for them starting in 2008.

Regarding the buyers:

-A husband and wife that owned two other similar small motels in-state. They used a banking relationship in which to finance the purchase.
-An aggressive partnership with several other nearby properties added a new member from Texas that became the on-site manager for the group. A regional bank originated the SBA loan.
-A California based group completed a 1031 exchange while adding a central states member to their investment partnership.
-A very successful nearby, in-state investor with various real estate income producing properties assisted family members in acquiring the hotel. An existing banking relationship was used by the family to acquire the hotel.

Please take a minute to review other listings I presently have for sale. They represent attractive purchase opportunities at various price points with different brands. Give me a call or send me an email as I'd enjoy sharing more information on any of the listings.

Should you be looking to sell, please call me at 913 851-0200. I'd welcome sharing my thoughts with you on the hotel real estate market based on my personal experiences and what I'm hearing from others. Plus, I'm looking for new listings to replace the four hotels that I've sold over the past 28 days!

Financing

2011-06-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

Recently a second generation hotel owner and seller made me aware of a hotel they had on the market for roughly 12 months with another broker. During that time, it had been under contract with a buyer only to have it fall out when the prospective buyer wasn't able to obtain a loan to purchase the hotel.

In view of the challenging economy with limited financing options, I don't recall a single instance in the past three years plus (or, 30 closings later) in which I was dealing with a buyer that was turned down for financing and the property did not close. There have certainly been instances in which a buyer didn't agree to the terms being dictated by a lending source, but not a flat out denial to make a prospect a loan once it was taken to loan committee.

In my opinion, this goes directly to the issue of broker qualifications and being thorough. It appears the new broker this seller had been dealing with, very possibly missed asking the prospective buyer some key questions. There's the benefit of working with an experienced broker such as myself. Having been a non-recourse underwriter, I've done the exhaustive research in preparation of taking a hotel loan request before a loan or credit committee. This prior experience helps me work with a buyer in determining qualifications while helping to avoid wasting time by going to contract, negotiating the contract, working thru the due diligence and financing contingencies, only to be denied their loan request. As we know, this can be potentially a 60 to 90+ day timeframe that's wasted if the transaction doesn't close.

I do recall in 2010, working with a buyer that was attempting to obtain a conventional loan for an independent property. In working with that buyer, we both knew there would be lenders that wouldn't have an interest in considering it for a loan. Therefore, we developed a list of possible lenders that the buyer and I worked our way through qualifying. Eventually, an out-of-state loan officer that had financed two other listings of mine, made the conventional loan.

I maintain my firm's Results are generated based on my Knowledge and the Connections made during an extensive and accomplished career in hotel operations, commercial lending, hotel brokerage and lodging property ownership. Please call me at 913 851-0200 to discuss any of my current hotel listings or for a confidential, no cost opinion of value for your hotel(s).

Enjoy the summer!

Results Knowledge Connections

Seventh hotel sold in November

2010-12-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

The 74 room former Sleep Inn and Suites closed in 27 days - from contract to closing. It was the fourth hotel I sold in a 35 day period dating back to a portfolio sale in October. With three more hotels currently under contract, I'm looking for owners with good, saleable properties that I can assist with widespread exposure among a seemingly more motivated prospective group of buyers. Please contact me to discuss the curent hotel real estate market, your hotel(s) and how I'd be pleased to prepare a confidential and no cost Broker's Price Opinion for a prospective seller. As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, financing for hotels is the best I've seen in several years.

Three hotels sold in October, four more hotels under contract.

2010-10-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to have represented a real estate investment trust as the seller in three hotels that sold in mid-October. Two of the hotels involved USDA financing with the third hotel having a conventional loan.

Plus, four more of my hotel listings are under contract. Buyer interest in hotels listed for sale remains active while lending, in my opinion, appears better than at anytime in the past several years. Especially, with the very favorable low interest rates and recent positive changes to SBA loan programs.

Broker Opinion of Value

Given the recent activity, I'm always looking for more good listings. If you're thinking about selling your hotel, please give me a call at 913 851-0200. I routinely prepare on a confidential and no cost basis a Broker Opinion of Value (BOV) for hotel owners. A BOV is not an appraisal; however, owners typically find them helpful in providing an opinion of current market value for their hotel prior to listing the property for sale.

Is this a lender driven real estate market?

2010-09-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

A prospective buyer recently made the comment that he felt we're in a lender driven real estate market. He was of the opinion that only selective transactions were closing based on more strict underwriting as a result of regulartory oversight.

I'm pleased to currently have five hotels under contract with a sixth PSA being reviewed by a buyer's attorney. My experience is that by working with known, experienced hotel lenders, a variety of conventional, SBA and USDA loans are avaiable for hotel buyers. On a YTD basis buyers I've worked with have used seven different lending sources.

Sure, lending is difficult; however, given realistic expectations in this economy, it's not impossible. Likely a longer process than before, but not nearly as difficult as many claim.

Interesting Hotel Rankings in Consumer Reports

2010-05-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

The current June, 2010 issue of Consumer Reports (CR) has several hotel related articles of interest. The magazine rates hotels based within five categories ranging from "Fanciest" to "Budget." The ratings are based on the experiences of 27,506 CR readers during 41,754 hotel stays, representing over 124,000 room nights from January 2008 to April 2009. Each chain was required to have had a minimum of 150 responses to be included in the evaluation. Make it a point to pickup a copy to see how your franchisor and other brands ranked. You'll likely find some surprises, as I did, with the CR reader scores.

Another article dealt with "How we saved $100." It reflects one hotel and the room rates that were quoted by: the property; hotels.com; Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity; corporate website; a hotel clerk; and Hotwire. I find it hard to believe that franchisors don't already have requirements in place to avoid that type of rate variance. Could this multiple rate quote situation possibly happen at your hotel?

Are you seeing an upturn in business? Is the market turning for the better?

2010-04-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Most hotel owners are talking about it. That is, monthly room revenues and a comparison to the same month in 2009. After a tough winter, March has been a bright spot for many. Half of the 14 listings I have are showing YTD thru March 2010 upticks versus the first quarter in 2009. Three hotels are showing double digit increases. A representative in an organization with over 100 hotels told me they saw a positive indication with March room revenues that more people are traveling and they're encouraged by recent trends. Granted, individual hotel performance is still very specific to market and sub-markets, but we'll take some positive news!

Prospective buyer activity has definitely picked up. We've all heard how there's a lot of cash sitting on the sidelines and I believe we're logically starting to see more buyers get back in the acquisition game. Many are opting for conventional loans to purchase a hotel by June 1st in order to capture this summer's business. In three separate phone calls to different bankers today, I was pleased to hear that all three would consider making conventional loans on listings I have.

Just as they say forget about trying to time a bottom in the stock market, now is an attrative time to consider buying a hotel. Hopefully we're well past the bottom of hotel values in this cycle. Give me a call if you have an interest in buying a hotel!

Two more absentee owned hotels sold in the past week!

2010-03-05T12:01:00.000-08:00

Yes, times are tough but hotels continue to be bought and sold. Sellers, in recognition of a growing market, are accepting current market values and owners are more motivated to sell.

On February 26th an independent hotel in central Iowa sold to an existing Iowa lodging owner. The buyer had a previous lending relationship with a non-bank SBA lender in Texas that originated the 7(a) loan for this acquisition. The loan provided for closing costs and working capital with a Wall Street Journal Prime floating rate of plus 2.75%. I'd previously sold another Super 8 for the principal seller of this hotel.

In the first week in March a Best Western sold to a former hotel owner living on the West Coast who'd been out of the hospitality business for a number of years. Again, this buyer had a prior lending relationship with a different Texas non-bank SBA lender that financed the purchase. This variable rate loan adjusts quarterly at Prime + 2.75%. I'd sold two other hotels for this seller in 2008.

-Meanwhile, a contract is in negotiations for a 100 room hotel in which the seller insists on closing in 30 days, after a previous buyer, with the property under contract, failed to close.
-Buyers are getting creative in structuring deals, also. Another purchase and sale agreement is being reviewed by attorneys involving two transactions revolving around a Choice Hotels branded property. The prospective buyer is offering a $750,000 home in a 54 hole golf community as part of the purchase of over a 70 room hotel.
-A third contract is expected for a turnkey hotel that's roughly 90 days from completion.
-An East Coast lender accepted an all cash and quick close LOI on a foreclosed and shuttered 176 room hotel located two hours from Chicago. A contract has been prepared and is in review by attorneys.

Watch for new listings - I'm expecting one Super 8 owner (that I'd sold seven hotels for in the preceding 18 months) to offer first mortgage seller financing to a qualified buyer, and there are several absentee owned hotels that should be listed soon.

Motivations for selling include several owners wishing to retire, East Coast owners wanting to exit the lodging business, and two separate owners wanting to sell smaller hotels believed to be better suited for owner operators. The range of prices, brands, interstate highways, Midwest states and communities vary. If you're a serious buyer, I should have one or more hotels for you to consider. Financing is available so don't be discouraged by what the media is telling us. Please give me a call whenever I can be of assistance!

Saleable new listings.

2010-02-15T19:41:00.000-08:00

In the coming days you'll find additional saleable new listings at NugentHB.com. I'm commited to working with owners that have a serious interest in selling their hotels while having a well grounded understanding of there value in the challenging lodging real estate market we're currently in. Give me a call to learn of my perspective when you find a hotel at NugentHB.com that meets the various criteria you've established to buy a hotel. And, yes, hotels are selling. Last year eight hotels that I listed, closed. I'm expecting two others to close by the end of this month (February '10). A variety of lenders have been used with multiple conventional and SBA originating sources. Now would certainly appear to be an excellent time in which to buy at attractive prices while allowing for upside to be realized in hopefully the not too distant future. Thanks for visiting NugentHB.com