Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT), the world?s largest publicly traded hotel operator, is considering selling a stake in the Waldorf Astoria in?Manhattan?or the entire hotel, Chief Executive Officer Christopher Nassetta said.
?We may look to reposition the hotel,? Nassetta said in a telephone interview after the McLean, Virginia-based company reported fourth-quarter earnings. ?We are still deciding on how we may reposition it and who we may reposition it with. Part of this would require capital, so we would look at the option of selling all or a stake in the hotel.?
Hilton is considering residential, office and retail uses for the Park Avenue property, Nassetta said. The 1,232-room hotel is so large that it has hurt Hilton?s ability to charge luxury-level rates, said Nikhil Bhalla, an analyst at FBR & Co. in Arlington, Virginia. Rooms at the 82-year-old hotel start at $279 for the week of March 3, according to the its website.
?It?s a tired hotel,? Bhalla said. ?It needs an overhaul. If they added condos, that could work. The residential market is hot in?New York, it would make the most sense, but office can make sense too because of its location on Park Avenue.?
The median sale price of Manhattan condominiums reached a record $1.32 million in the fourth quarter, according to a report by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The median for apartments in new developments was $1.73 million, up 27 percent from a year earlier. Midtown office prices are exceeding peak levels on a per-square-foot basis.
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