The price for the six-story, 161-room Hampton Inn is $21.5 million, or $133,540 a room, and the payment consists of cash and the assumption of $15.5 million in debt, bearing a 6.4% fixed interest rate. The facility, which is located at Exit 63 of the Long Island Expressway near MacArthur Airport, opened in February 2002.

Hersha paid $18 million, or $135,339 per room, for the 133-room Holiday Inn, which opened in March 2001. This includes a cash payment and the assumption of $10.6 million in debt that bears a 5.7% fixed rate of interest. The property is at Exit 56 of the LIE near the entrance of a 1,400-acre industrial park.

"This region of New York provides a strong platform for growth in a high-barrier-to-entry market, as land for development is becoming more scarce and new construction extremely expensive," says Jay H. Shah, Hersha's CEO, in a statement. A spokeswoman tells GlobeSt.com both properties were purchased outright and Hersha did not provide development financing for either of these properties as it does on numerous acquisitions in exchange for a first right of refusal. GlobeSt.com was unable to reach a Long Island Hotels' principal by deadline.

This is Hersha's first transaction with the seller, which Shah calls, "one of the premier developers on Long Island." In the statement, he says he hopes the relationship "will expand in the coming years." The hotels "are in great physical condition and have irreplaceable locations that are attractive to corporate travelers as well as tourists." They fit within Hersha's strategy, which is focused on properties along the Northeast corridor from Boston to Virginia.