Developed by the City of Houston, the hotel at 1600 Lamar St. is owned by the Houston Convention Center Hotel Corp., which was charged with stabilizing it. Occupancy at the 2007 close was 64.2%, with its average daily room rate at $147.

"The property is blowing the doors off what was estimated and is doing tremendously well," says Mary Carolan, senior vice president with CB Richard Ellis in Houston. She is leading the team that's marketing the 24-story hotel, which sits on nearly three acres across the street from the George R. Brown Convention Center. "There are no other 1,203-room hotels in Houston," Carolan points out, adding it's also benefiting from convention center advance bookings. "There is no competition for this one."

There is, however, room for growth. "The property is clearly stabilized. I think a property under five years old and with the demand generator of the convention center has room for growth," Carolan tells GlobeSt.com. "Private capital will help that along." She says the source of that private capital could come from almost anywhere, either the US or an offshore fund. She explains the Hilton Americas meets many of the underpinning requirements for offshore capital: it's relatively new, has stability because it's near the convention center and is situated in a pedestrian-friendly location.

Carolan wouldn't comment on the city's reason for selling the asset, but she did acknowledge that city leaders felt it would be an opportune time to put the hotel into private capital's hands. "From our perspective, Houston, because of its unusual economic position, has the tools to drive investment capital from around the world to take a look at the city for sustainable real estate investments," she says.

The hotel officially goes on the market in the third week of May. Carolan says the marketing period will run for four to six weeks. "This will attract high-quality capital. We have an opportunity not just to showcase this asset, but also the Toyota Center and Discovery Green and the other things in the region," Carolan says. "There are so many things happening in Houston. This hotel will be good to show Houston off."