HFF Lends a Hand in Orlando Hotel Deal
HFF secured a five-year acquisition and renovation loan on behalf of the new owner and represented the seller in the transaction of Holiday Inn Orlando SW – Celebration Area.
By Mihaela Coste
HFF recently announced that it has closed the sale of Holiday Inn Orlando SW – Celebration Area, a 444-key, limited-service hotel near Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. The company represented the seller, Eastgate Hospitality Investors LLC, as well as the new owner, Canada-based hospitality developer Palm Holdings, in securing a five-year, floating-rate acquisition and renovation loan with BMO Harris Bank.
Proceeds of the current financing will be used for purchasing the hotel and for implementing a property improvement plan, including the renovations of the lobby, common areas and guest rooms. In 2012, the company secured a five-year loan on behalf of the seller. The franchise agreement recently expired, the asset trading free and clear of debt and unencumbered of management. Senior Managing Director Michael Weinberg and Associate Directors Preston Reid and Matthew Sand led the HFF team.
Holiday Inn Orlando SW – Celebration Area is situated at 5711 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in Kissimmee, Fla., 2.5 miles from Walt Disney World Resort and less than 2 miles east of Interstate 4, which provides convenient access to Universal Studios Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando, LEGOLAND and the Orlando Premium Outlets.
The asset was completed in 1984 and 1985, and the Holiday Inn redevelopment in 2007. The hotel offers two eight-story guestroom towers and a single-story section between them. Amenities include an outdoor pool, kid’s pool and whirlpool, fitness center, business center, game room, playground, lobby bar, 4,000-square-foot function space, a Trattoria Café with an on-site Pizza Hut Express and transportation to the theme parks.
Holiday Inn Orlando SW is Palm Holdings’ second acquisition in the Orlando region, including the Inn at Calypso Cay and Lake Buena Vista South in 2015, which will convert to a Holiday Inn Express & Suites effective fall 2017. The new Holiday Inn Express & Suites will serve as the company’s corporate office in Florida. The company that currently owns and manages approximately 750 keys in Florida and 112 properties around the world recently won the InterContinental Hotels Group 2017 Developer of the Year Award for its work on another IHG property, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Halifax-Bedford.
“The Holiday Inn Orlando SW is an ideal acquisition for us,” said Rajan Taneja, senior vice president of Palm Holdings, in a prepared statement. “It is in the heart of Orlando’s world-class attractions, which are always growing and offering new opportunities for guests. This gives us a launching pad to grow in the Central Florida hospitality space. We continue to look for outstanding properties, not only in Orlando, but across Florida.”
Images courtesy of Holiday Inn Orlando SW – Celebration Area
