DALLAS, July 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Acquisition
Highlights:
- Minimal CapEx needs after recent renovation of approximately
$8.1 million completed in 2013
- Fremont/Newark submarket has seen trailing 12-month
RevPAR growth of 15.4% through May
2014
- Purchase price equates to approximately 45% below replacement
cost
Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) ("Ashford Trust" or
the "Company") announced today that it has signed a definitive
agreement to acquire the 357-room Fremont Marriott Silicon Valley
hotel. The acquisition is expected to close within the next 30
days. Located in the vibrant Silicon Valley submarket of the Bay
Area in Northern California, the
hotel features approximately 15,000 square feet of meeting space
spread across 19 flexible meeting areas. Upon closing, the property
will be managed by Remington Lodging. The Company intends to
finance the property with approximately $37.5 million of non-recourse mortgage
debt.
"We are very excited with this acquisition considering its
significant upside potential. As the only full-service hotel
in Fremont, the Fremont Marriott
is well positioned within the marketplace to draw corporate demand
from neighboring companies in Silicon Valley and the surrounding
Bay Area," said Monty J. Bennett,
Ashford Trust's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "This hotel
offered us an exceptional opportunity. It has a prime location in a
high barrier to entry market, and the property recently completed a
renovation allowing it to provide best-in-class product quality and
services. With the ability to install our affiliated property
manager, Remington Lodging, as the new property manager for the
hotel, we expect the operating performance of the hotel to improve
significantly."
On a trailing-12 month basis, the Fremont/Newark submarket has seen RevPAR growth of
15.4% through May 2014. The robust
strength of the Bay Area economy and the continued growth in the
technology sector combined with increasing visitation to the area
is expected to make the Bay Area and Silicon Valley one of the
country's top annual RevPAR growth markets in 2014. The hotel is
located directly off Interstate 880 at the gateway to Silicon
Valley, near the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay. This ideal
location is home to over 1,200 high-tech, life sciences and clean
technology companies headquartered in the Silicon Valley area and
provides exceptional access to many popular Bay Area
attractions.
Originally developed in 1999, the Fremont Marriott Silicon
Valley features a sleek, modern facade with 357 well equipped
guestrooms and approximately 15,000 square feet of meeting space
including the 7,590 square-foot Grand Ballroom. Amenities
include an indoor pool and whirlpool, 24-hour fitness center,
theGREATROOM restaurant and lounge, and complimentary on-site
parking.
The Fremont Marriott Silicon Valley is in exceptional condition
with minimal capex needs, having already undergone several
renovations, the most recent of which was an approximate
$8.1 million ($23,000 per key) renovation and PIP completed in
2013. The hotel received a Renovation Excellence award from
Marriott in 2012.
Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust
(REIT) focused on investing opportunistically in the hospitality
industry across all segments and at all levels of the capital
structure primarily within the United States.
Follow Chairman and CEO Monty
Bennett on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBennettAshford or
@MBennettAshford.
Ashford has created an Ashford App for the hospitality REIT
investor community. The Ashford App is available for free download
at Apple's App Store and the Google
Play Store by searching "Ashford."
Certain statements and assumptions in this press release
contain or are based upon "forward-looking" information and are
being made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties.
When we use the words "will likely result," "may," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "should," "expect," "believe," "intend," or similar
expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking
statements. Such statements are subject to numerous
assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside Ashford
Trust's control.
These forward-looking statements are subject to known and
unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results
to differ materially from those anticipated, including, without
limitation: general volatility of the capital markets and the
market price of our common stock; changes in our business or
investment strategy; availability, terms and deployment of capital;
availability of qualified personnel; changes in our industry and
the market in which we operate, interest rates or the general
economy; and the degree and nature of our competition. These and
other risk factors are more fully discussed in Ashford Trust's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release
are only made as of the date of this press release. Investors
should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. We are not obligated to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or circumstances, changes in
expectations or otherwise.
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SOURCE Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc.