Oaktree, Trinity JV Pays $197M For W Hollywood Hotel

Adding to the flurry of year-end hotel activity, the W Hollywood hotel has sold to a joint venture between Trinity Fund Advisors and Oaktree Capital Management for $197M, marking a price cut from the hotel's prior sale in 2017. 

Plans are already underway for a comprehensive makeover of the property, which first opened in 2010. 

The seller, lodging REIT Host Hotels & Resorts, paid $219M for the W in 2017. Host said that selling the hotel's leasehold interest "reduces our ground lease exposure and obviates the need for major capital investment and associated disruption."

The 305-room hotel at 6250 Hollywood Blvd. hasn't undergone room renovations since it opened,  according to Trinity and Oaktree. The team said in a statement it will invest in a “multi-million-dollar capital improvement plan" that will benefit both the hotel and the brand itself, which is under the arm of Marriott International.

“In acquiring W Hollywood, we are expanding our longstanding partnerships with Oaktree and Marriott International in repositioning a marquee asset in one of the nation’s most storied locations,” Trinity Managing Partner, CEO and President Sean Hehir said in a statement. “We feel that this acquisition reflects our ability to identify compelling hospitality investment opportunities that are poised to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns.”

The repositioning of the hotel will include upgrading guest rooms, public areas, food and beverage outlets, the pool deck, event spaces and the lobby. The hotel is on Hollywood Boulevard at Vine Street, along the Walk of Fame and across the street from the Pantages Theatre. 

Though the hotel industry in Los Angeles was walloped by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, most LA hotels have reopened after their temporary, pandemic-related closures and LA hotels have been selling at a steady clip throughout the pandemic.

But the industry has also seen closures of once-popular hotels. The Standard in West Hollywood on the Sunset Strip did not reopen after closing at the start of the year; in October, the land under the site was put on the market. The Standard in Downtown LA, meanwhile, will close for good in January after temporarily shuttering during the pandemic. 

In another example, Hotel Cecil, which was expected to reopen as a combination affordable housing and hotel project, opened this month as a solely affordable housing development amid concerns over the viability of Downtown hotel projects.