HFF Closes $185.5 Million Sale of LaPlaya Beach Resort in Naples, Florida
MIAMI, FL. - May 27, 2015. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced today that it has closed the $185.5 million sale of the LaPlaya Beach Resort, a 189-key, luxury boutique resort located on the Gulf of Mexico in Naples, Florida.
HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a partnership between affiliates of Halstatt and Noble House Hotels & Resorts, Ltd. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust purchased the offering free and clear of debt and announced that LaPlaya will continue to be managed by Noble House Hotels & Resorts under a new operating agreement.
LaPlaya underwent a transformative renovation and expansion in 2002 resulting in an exclusive luxury boutique experience spread across three waterfront buildings set on six acres along Naples' famed Vanderbilt Beach. Decorated with awards from Conde Nast Traveler, Wine Spectator and Travel + Leisure, the resort caters to an upscale clientele from around the world. In addition to the 600 feet of beach frontage on the Gulf of Mexico, the resort features the BALEEN Restaurant, a 4,500-square-foot day spa, 8,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, two resort-style swimming pools, a 23-slip marina and the La Playa Beach Club, a prestigious private-membership club that generates income from membership sales, annual dues and ancillary revenue from club members throughout the property. LaPlaya's 18-hole golf club will continue to serve LaPlaya's guests and members; however, it was not included in the sale.
The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by senior managing director and head of HFF's hotel group Daniel C. Peek, managing director Max Comess, director Chris Drew and real estate analysts Alexandra Lalos and Maxx Carney.
“The purchase and sale of LaPlaya is significant and underlines the continued strong recovery of the resort sector nationwide and the broad institutional appeal of this segment,” Peek said. “There has never been greater demand for this asset class in the global real estate capital markets than today.”
“LaPlaya was aggressively pursued by both public and private companies,” Comess added. “The exceptionally strong performance of the hotel, its best-in-class management team, pristine physical condition and high barriers against competition all fueled investors' interest.”
The Naples hotel market has experienced rapid growth in recent years, experiencing record tourism in 2014, record international visitation and record investor interest. An expanding and diversifying local economy, high barriers to construction, and world-class leisure amenities have positioned Naples as one of the most prized markets in United States, particularly among sophisticated institutional investors. Expanded airlift has also increased accessibility to feeder markets such as the Northeastern U.S., which has attracted a new, often younger and more affluent customer base to the region's resorts, yielding impressive hotel performance market-wide. In 2014 according to Smith Travel Research, the Naples market achieved an aggregate average room rate of $202.38 and revenue per available hotel room of $136.10 - metrics, according to Peek, that are on par with Miami and exceed the performance of major U.S. markets such as Boston and Los Angeles.
“Naples has emerged in recent years as one of the most exciting and strongest growth markets in the U.S. across all real estate classes,” Lalos said. “Owners in this market have seen a considerable increase in the value of their holdings as global investors continue to be attracted to the positive trends and evolving Naples story."
HFF's Hotel Group has had particular success in closing resort transactions along Florida's Gulf Coast, including the recent sales of the Waldorf Astoria Naples (now Naples Grande Resort) and the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort. The firm also closed the sale of the Mercato, a 456,359-square-foot, mixed-use retail lifestyle center in Naples, earlier this month.
About Halstatt
Halstatt is the operational and investment arm of the Sproul family, based in Collier County, Florida, and a member of the Barron Collier family legacy in Southwest Florida. Halstatt actively manages real estate, private equity and venture investments as well as liquid assets. Halstatt also oversees Halstatt Real Estate Partners, a family of private equity real estate funds. For more information, visit www.halstatt.com.
About Noble House Hotels & Resorts, Ltd.
Noble House Hotels & Resorts, Ltd., has been a privately held company for more than 30 years, originally founded in 1979 by owner Pat Colee as a commercial property development group. Officially transitioned in 1994, this Seattle, Washington-based company owns and manages a portfolio of 18 upper segment hotels and luxury resorts spanning the four coastal corners of America, including the newly refurbished Kona Kai Resort & Marina, Ocean Key Resort in Key West, Little Palm Island Resort & Spa in the Florida Keys and The Edgewater in Seattle. For more information or to book reservations, visit www.NobleHouseHotels.com.
About Pebblebrook Hotel Trust
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) organized to opportunistically acquire and invest primarily in upper-upscale, full-service hotels located in urban markets in major gateway cities. The company owns 35 hotels, including 29 wholly owned hotels with a total of 6,992 guest rooms and a 49-percent joint venture interest in six hotels with a total of 1,777 guest rooms. The company owns, or has an ownership interest in, hotels located in 11 states and the District of Columbia, including: San Francisco, California; Los Angeles, California (Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Santa Monica and West Hollywood); New York, New York; Boston, Massachusetts; San Diego, California; Portland, Oregon; Buckhead, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Miami, Florida; Columbia River Gorge, Washington; Nashville, Tennessee; Bethesda, Maryland and Minneapolis, Minnesota. For more information, please visit www.pebblebrookhotels.com and follow the firm on Twitter at @PebblebrookPEB.
About HFF
HFF and HFFS (HFF Securities L.P.) are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). HFF operates out of 22 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF together with its affiliate HFFS offer clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, equity placement, advisory services, loan sales and commercial loan servicing. For more information please visit hfflp.com or follow HFF on Twitter @HFF.
Media Contact:
Max Comess
HFF Managing Director
305-448-1333
[email protected]
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