Waramaug Hospitality, OTO Development and Ashford Hospitality Trust have either bought or sold hotels in Florida in recent weeks. Here’s the latest.
Waramaug bought the 105-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites Naples North – Bonita Springs from an affiliate of Liberty Group. “Despite its outstanding location and amenities, the property has been trailing the competitive set, and we intend to reposition the hotel through targeted renovations and a revamped sales and marketing effort,” Craig Nussbaum, SVP of Waramaug Hospitality, said in a statement. Waramaug, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based hotel investment manager, owns 39 hotels with 4,757 rooms.
On Dec. 5, OTO Development bought the Howard Johnson by Wyndham St. Pete Beach Resort Hotel from the Reagan Family Trust. The company plans to begin a complete renovation of the property over the next couple of years that will include all 136 guestrooms, all public areas and the pool. The hotel, originally built in 1970, will remain open during the renovation. OTO, part of The Johnson Group, owns and/or operates around 70 hotels with approximately 8,000 rooms.
Further north, Ashford Hospitality Trust sold the 102-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott Jacksonville (Fla.) for $11.2 million. The real estate investment trust plans to use the net proceeds of approximately $10.8 million from the sale for general corporate purposes.