Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) (the ?Company?) today announced that it has acquired the W Los Angeles – Westwood hotel for $125.0 million. The 258-room, all- suite, luxury, full-service hotel is located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The property will continue to be managed by Starwood Hotels and Resorts (?Starwood?).
?We?re thrilled with the acquisition of W Los Angeles – Westwood in the dynamic, high-barrier-to-entry West Los Angeles neighborhood of Westwood,? said Jon Bortz, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust. ?The hotel is ideally located adjacent to UCLA and Westwood Village, one of Los Angeles? most popular shopping, dining and entertainment destinations, and is near the iconic Wilshire Corridor and Century City. Los Angeles attracts over 25 million total visitors annually and is the second-most visited city by overseas visitors. Steady demand growth along with a historically highly constrained supply environment, provide excellent operating fundamentals for the market and the hotel.?
The 258-room W Los Angeles ? Westwood hotel is attractively located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. This location offers a diversity of demand generators and convenient access to all the tourist attractions, restaurants, nightlife and entertainment industry activity in Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City, Wilshire, Brentwood, Downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Westwood Village is extremely pedestrian-friendly and is the premiere shopping and commercial center of Westwood, offering a wealth of amenities in a charming and unique setting while hosting national chain retailers, specialty stores, fine dining and casual restaurants, a full array of professional and convenience services, fitness centers, museums and vintage movie theaters that host many of Hollywood?s film premieres. Westwood is also in the heart of the Wilshire Corridor, which features ultra-luxury, high-rise condominium buildings, Class A office buildings, smaller boutique buildings, as well as the University of California, Los Angeles (?UCLA?), which is the largest university in the state of California and is home to a student population of nearly 40,000.
W Los Angeles ? Westwood features 258 luxurious all-suite guest rooms with signature W Beds and state-of-the-art technology and entertainment. The hotel is known as an urban resort and features expansive, superiorly landscaped outdoor areas, as well as WET, a heated modern pool and cabana filled relaxation area, and The Backyard, a stylish, casual poolside bar and restaurant. The hotel offers 3,300 square feet of indoor meeting space and Bliss Spa, an upscale spa that offers massages, body treatments/wraps, manicures/pedicures, facials, waxing and a retail store. The property is also home to SWEAT, a fully equipped, 24-hour fitness center, as well as a 132-space parking garage with valet service and 24-hour room service. In addition to The Backyard, the hotel boasts two other food and beverage venues: NineThirty, a full- service restaurant that serves three meals daily and specializes in merging modern American cuisine with international influences and Whiskey Blue, a high design, music-oriented, art inspired bar.
In 2011, W Los Angeles – Westwood operated at 84% occupancy, with an average daily rate (?ADR?) of $258 and room revenue per available room (?RevPAR?) of $216, 16% below the property?s prior RevPAR peak in 2008. During the next 12 months, the Company currently forecasts that the hotel will generate earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (?EBITDA?) of $8.3 to $8.8 million and net operating income after capital reserves (?NOI?) of $7.0 to $7.5 million.
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust and Starwood are planning a multi- million dollar public space renovation that will re-concept and renovate the NineThirty restaurant, completely renovate the ground floor lobby, lobby bar and public space, and upgrade and refurbish the meeting space, pool area and The Backyard.
The hotel will continue to be managed by Starwood, pursuant to a long-term management agreement. Starwood also manages two of the Company?s other hotels: The Westin Gaslamp Quarter hotel in San Diego, California and W Boston in Boston, Massachusetts.
?We?re thrilled to again be partnering with Starwood at W Los Angeles – Westwood. We look forward to future success together as we continue to improve this high-quality hotel,? continued Mr. Bortz.
?We have a great working relationship with Pebblebrook Hotel Trust on The Westin Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego, W Boston and Sheraton Delfina Santa Monica, and are pleased to expand our partnership with this iconic property,? said Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood.
The Company expects to incur approximately $0.5 million of costs related to the acquisition of the hotel that will be expensed as incurred.
The acquisition of W Los Angeles – Westwood brings the total number of properties in the Company?s portfolio to 24, comprising $1.9 billion of invested capital since the Company completed its initial public offering in December 2009. This acquisition marks the Company?s third investment in the Los Angeles market, including the 237-room Mondrian Los Angeles in West Hollywood, California and the 310-room Sheraton Delfina Santa Monica in Santa Monica, California.
Source: Pebblebrook Hotel Trust