Singapore's Ascott Residence Trust has acquired the 244-room DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel New York – Times Square South for a reported $106 million. The deal comes on the heels of Ascott's acquisition of the Hotel Central Fifth Avenue New York, which it acquired in May. That property will undergo a $50-million renovation and rebranding before reopening as Ascott's first Citadines residence in the U.S. in 2018.
In total, the DoubleTree acquisition is Ascott's fourth acquisition in New York, joining the Sheraton Tribeca New York Hotel, the Element New York Times Square Hotel and the aforementioned Hotel Central Fifth Avenue.
“New York has strong corporate demand for accommodation as business travelers form a quarter of all visitors annually, generating over 30% of visitor spending. Manhattan has the strongest performing hotel market in the U.S. with the highest revenue per room,ˮ said Bob Tan, Ascott’s chairman, and as quoted in Real Estate Weekly.
“This DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel New York – Times Square South, as well as Sheraton Tribeca New York Hotel and Element New York Times Square West hotel, which we acquired in the last two years, enjoy high average occupancy rate of more than 90 percent. We expect this accretive acquisition to enhance Ascott REIT’s portfolio as we remain focused on creating stable and growing returns to unit holders.”
The hotel DoubleTree will reportedly continue to operate under the Doubletree flag.