A few years ago, hotels and resorts were among the least attractive sectors in commercial real estate. Properties were filing for bankruptcy at a rapid rate, lenders were writing down the value of mortgages and buyers were scarce. These days, hotels and resorts are hot properties.That is good news for investors that were big buyers during the downturn, including Blackstone Group and Rockpoint Group. The rebound also has worked out well for insurance giant MetLife Inc., MET -0.34% which added to its hotel portfolio during the downturn.
Enlarge ImageThe Swan and Dolphin hotels at the Walt Disney World Resort recently were appraised at $638 million. MetLifeNow MetLife is doubling down. In late December, MetLife bought a stake in four brand-name hotels, including a majority stake in two resorts—the Swan and Dolphin hotels—at the Walt Disney DIS +1.50%World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The company declined to disclose what it paid, but the two adjacent properties recently were appraised at $638 million, according to Morningstar.MetLife, which has a $12 billion real-estate portfolio, said it expects to do more hotel deals. "Investing in hotels and resort properties fits with our strategy to be in robust, tier-one markets in order to drive income and build appreciation," said Robert Merck, a senior managing director at MetLife who heads the global real-estate investment group.The deal comes as investors are showing more interest in resort hotels nationwide. Last year, investors spent $4.5 billion to acquire resort hotels, up 140% from 2012. The average price per unit increased 112% to nearly $367,000, according to preliminary year-end research from Real Capital Analytics. Both were the highest levels since 2007.Resorts suffered a double whammy during the downturn: Vacation spending dried up while businesses scaled back on the conferences that can be lucrative for hotel operators. "It was the perfect storm," said Dan Fasulo, a Real Capital Analytics managing director. As the lending environment deteriorated, many hotels fell into foreclosure and were sold at significant discounts.When the economy began to recover, acquisitions of apartment buildings and office space were first to rebound. Now resorts are "finally starting to get some traction in this recovery," said Mr. Fasulo.Resort hotels are benefiting as businesses and consumers spend more. In November, revenue per available room was $78.14, up 8% from the prior year, according STR, a hotel research firm. Occupancy climbed to 57.8%, from 56.4% a year earlier.What's more, research from MLV & Co., which tracks publicly held hotels, shows that convention-center bookings are up 5% for 2014 after being down 1% at this time in 2013. "You're seeing leisure accelerate across resorts [and] investors can see the group bookings on the books," said MLV analyst Ryan Meliker. "You've got more confidence and willingness to pay up for those assets."Industry watchers expect resort deals to continue to be hot in 2014. "Resorts in general, and Florida resorts, are viewed as highly attractive," said Dan Peek, who leads brokerage HFF's hotel practice. "The market has come around to the point that most resort markets are worthy investments."The MetLife deal involved MetLife buying Silverpeak Real Estate Partners' 25% interest in several properties owned by Tishman Realty Corp., including the Westin New York at Times Square and the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers. MetLife already owned a portion of the Swan and Dolphin hotels, so this deal brings its ownership to 59%.The resort complex, which opened in 1989 and 1990 and has about 2,300 rooms, is located between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios. Disney doesn't own the buildings, but it owns the underlying land and receives compensation. Westin runs the Swan while Sheraton operates the Dolphin.The Swan's and Dolphin's occupancy rates were above 80% in 2013, up from the high 60s in 2002, according to Morningstar. "The properties perform much better relative to their peer groups," Morningstar wrote. The firm calculated the revenue per available room at more than $139 and the annual net cash flow at $39 million. It values each room at $211,217.Corrections & Amplifications
MetLife Inc. purchased a share of the Westin New York at Times Square. An earlier version of this article said MetLife purchased a share of the Westin New York Grand Central.
Enlarge ImageThe Swan and Dolphin hotels at the Walt Disney World Resort recently were appraised at $638 million. MetLifeNow MetLife is doubling down. In late December, MetLife bought a stake in four brand-name hotels, including a majority stake in two resorts—the Swan and Dolphin hotels—at the Walt Disney DIS +1.50%World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The company declined to disclose what it paid, but the two adjacent properties recently were appraised at $638 million, according to Morningstar.MetLife, which has a $12 billion real-estate portfolio, said it expects to do more hotel deals. "Investing in hotels and resort properties fits with our strategy to be in robust, tier-one markets in order to drive income and build appreciation," said Robert Merck, a senior managing director at MetLife who heads the global real-estate investment group.The deal comes as investors are showing more interest in resort hotels nationwide. Last year, investors spent $4.5 billion to acquire resort hotels, up 140% from 2012. The average price per unit increased 112% to nearly $367,000, according to preliminary year-end research from Real Capital Analytics. Both were the highest levels since 2007.Resorts suffered a double whammy during the downturn: Vacation spending dried up while businesses scaled back on the conferences that can be lucrative for hotel operators. "It was the perfect storm," said Dan Fasulo, a Real Capital Analytics managing director. As the lending environment deteriorated, many hotels fell into foreclosure and were sold at significant discounts.When the economy began to recover, acquisitions of apartment buildings and office space were first to rebound. Now resorts are "finally starting to get some traction in this recovery," said Mr. Fasulo.Resort hotels are benefiting as businesses and consumers spend more. In November, revenue per available room was $78.14, up 8% from the prior year, according STR, a hotel research firm. Occupancy climbed to 57.8%, from 56.4% a year earlier.What's more, research from MLV & Co., which tracks publicly held hotels, shows that convention-center bookings are up 5% for 2014 after being down 1% at this time in 2013. "You're seeing leisure accelerate across resorts [and] investors can see the group bookings on the books," said MLV analyst Ryan Meliker. "You've got more confidence and willingness to pay up for those assets."Industry watchers expect resort deals to continue to be hot in 2014. "Resorts in general, and Florida resorts, are viewed as highly attractive," said Dan Peek, who leads brokerage HFF's hotel practice. "The market has come around to the point that most resort markets are worthy investments."The MetLife deal involved MetLife buying Silverpeak Real Estate Partners' 25% interest in several properties owned by Tishman Realty Corp., including the Westin New York at Times Square and the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers. MetLife already owned a portion of the Swan and Dolphin hotels, so this deal brings its ownership to 59%.The resort complex, which opened in 1989 and 1990 and has about 2,300 rooms, is located between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios. Disney doesn't own the buildings, but it owns the underlying land and receives compensation. Westin runs the Swan while Sheraton operates the Dolphin.The Swan's and Dolphin's occupancy rates were above 80% in 2013, up from the high 60s in 2002, according to Morningstar. "The properties perform much better relative to their peer groups," Morningstar wrote. The firm calculated the revenue per available room at more than $139 and the annual net cash flow at $39 million. It values each room at $211,217.Corrections & Amplifications
MetLife Inc. purchased a share of the Westin New York at Times Square. An earlier version of this article said MetLife purchased a share of the Westin New York Grand Central.
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