PHOENIX: Are Hotels Ready for the Super Bowl?
Now that the big game is over, we can get excited for next year at University of Phoenix Stadium. (It’s never too early to start tailgating.) Expect a boost for Phoenix’s hotel market, but where does it stand today? It’s still tempered, reports LW Hospitality Advisors CEO Dan Lesser, who'll be speaking at the Bisnow Lodging Investment Summit this May in Washington, DC. For investors, there’s more than enough supply for a couple of years, and scant development is happening in a few small pockets. “It’s just not economically viable if you can buy a hotel below replacement cost, and there’s no shortage of those properties to be had,” he says.
Regardless, there were few sales in the past year, including Interstate Hotel & Resorts and Waramaug Hospitality’s $16M buy of the 257-room Hilton Phoenix Airport Hotel (pictured) and Interwest Capital Corp’s $11M purchase of the historic 249-room Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort in Chandler. While Dan says Phoenix occupancies are still running below the national average, the market will—and always does—bounce back. Growth will radiate from the core of the city, and available land is being offered at a fairly low price. That could offer opportunities for select-service hotels.
