California Hotel Sales Down 13% in 2001

The number of California hotel properties that changed hands in 2001 dropped 13% from the previous year but the value of the transactions continued to rise, according to an industry survey.

Nearly 270 individual hotel properties were sold last year for $1.31billion, a nearly 20% increase from the year before, according to Atlas Hospitality Group, a Costa Mesa-based hotel broker and consulting firm. The increase in volume surprised analysts and reflected the effect of some large sales, including the 492-room La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad that sold for $120 million--last year’s biggest transaction. Another major sale involved Le Meridien in Beverly Hills, which fetched $82.3 million.

In Southern California, the number of hotel sales fell by more than 15% to 175 properties but the dollar volume surged by more than 30% to $811.9 million.

Sales dropped sharply after the Sept. 11 attacks and transactions have remained depressed this year, said Alan X. Reay, president of Atlas. However, Reay said he expects activity to pick up, in part because of the growing number of bankrupt and poorly performing hotel properties.