Braemar Hotels & Resorts Enters Agreement to Sell the Renaissance Tampa for $68 Million
Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: BHR) ("Braemar" or the "Company") announced it has signed a definitive agreement to sell the 293-room Renaissance Tampa International Plaza hotel ("Renaissance Tampa" or the "Hotel") in Tampa, Floridafor $68 million ($232,000 per key). The sales price represents a trailing twelve-month cap rate of 8.2% on net operating income and a 10.0x Hotel EBITDA multiple as of March 31, 2018. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter. The closing of the sale is also expected to complete a reverse 1031 exchange that was initiated to acquire the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota.
The sale of the Renaissance Tampa is another step in the execution of the strategy for the Company's non-core hotels that was announced in January 2017. This transaction follows the Company's June 2017 announcement that it had reached an agreement to convert its Courtyard Philadelphia Downtown hotel to an Autograph Collection property as well as its November 2017 announcements that it had sold its Marriott Plano hotel and had reached an agreement to convert its Courtyard San Francisco Downtown hotel to an Autograph Collection property.
As the Renaissance Tampa is the lowest RevPAR asset in the Company's portfolio, the Company's RevPAR after this transaction should increase and be significantly higher than any of its peers, and Braemar will continue to be the publicly-traded lodging REIT with the highest RevPAR and highest asset quality. Additionally, the sale of the Hotel will reduce the Company's leverage and is expected to reduce its interest expense by approximately $1.5 million annually.
The Hotel has an existing allocated debt balance of approximately $35.3 million. Based upon the prior 12-month period ended March 31, 2018, the Renaissance Tampa achieved RevPAR of $158 with occupancy of 83% and Average Daily Rate of $191. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures is included in the financial table below.
"This agreement to sell the Renaissance Tampa moves us closer to finalization of our portfolio realignment initiative," said Richard J. Stockton, Braemar's President and Chief Executive Officer. "With the recent acquisition of the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, we saw this sale as an opportunity to replace a lower RevPAR property with a much higher RevPAR property in order to increase our overall portfolio RevPAR. Furthermore, adding another resort property with world class beach and golf facilities allows us to capitalize on the recent strong trends in the luxury chain scale, which is being fueled by guests seeking experiential travel opportunities."
Braemar Hotels & Resorts is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing in luxury hotels and resorts.
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Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is a global leading lodging company based in Bethesda,Maryland, USA, with more than 4,200 properties in 80 countries and territories. Marriott International reported revenues of nearly $14 billion in fiscal year 2014. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 19 brands, including: The Ritz-Carlton®, BVlgari®, EDITION®, JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Marriott Hotels®, Delta Hotels and Resorts®, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Gaylord Hotels®, AC Hotels by Marriott®, Courtyard®, Residence Inn®, SpringHill Suites®, Fairfield Inn & Suites®, TownePlace Suites®, Protea Hotels® and MoxyHotels®. Marriott has been consistently recognized as a top employer and for its superior business ethics. The company also manages the award-winning guest loyalty program, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® program, which together surpass 50 million members. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at 
