Although the hotel has undergone $9 million in renovations, including refurbishment of all 250 guestrooms, HEI plans to invest an additional $6 million in renovations over the next two years. Its efforts will focus on the meeting space and outdoor courtyard. "Following completion of our planned renovation, we will expand the hotel's sales efforts to encompass more group business, where we see attractive upside potential," says Clark Hanrattie, SVP and chief investment officer of HEI.

The 12-story property contains more than 16,000 sf of meeting space. This is HEI's seventh acquisition or development this year, which is in line with its announced plan in 2003 of investing between $400 million and $500 million a year, says Steve Mendell, EVP of acquisitions and development, in a statement. The company continues "to seek investment opportunities," he adds, indicating the focus is on "first-class, full-service hotels" in the top 50 MSAs in the US.

In mid-November, HEI paid Starwood $89 million, or $307,958 per key, for the Westin Philadelphia. This followed its Nov. 3 acquisition of the 333-suite Embassy Suites Orlando-Lake Buena Vista Resort from Strategic Hotel Capital for $56 million.

A Starwood spokesman declined to discuss why the company sold the airport asset here. In late November it paid $225 million to acquire a 50% stake in Le Meridian's brand, management portfolio and franchise business. Earlier that month, it sold a 38-property portfolio to Host Marriott Corp. for more than $4 billion. At that time, according to a GlobeSt.com report, Stephen J. Heyer, Starwood's CEO, said the Host Marriott sale accelerated "Starwood's transformation from a real estate company with some hotel brands to a consumer lifestyle company with a branded hotel portfolio at its core."