Crestline did not disclose the sales price of the portfolio;however an industry source tells GlobeSt.com that the entiretransaction, including the sale to Apple REIT Eight, was in excessof $200 million. A central laundry facility in Virginia Beach alsowas part of the sale. The transaction was arranged by a team led byDoug Henkel of CB Richard Ellis Hotels.

Henkel tells GlobeSt.com that Crestline had been pursuing thisportfolio on and off for the past four years. At the end of lastyear, he says, the two firms sat down to seriously negotiate. "Thisportfolio was never marketed publicly," Henkel says. It is asignificant transaction for Crestline, he continues, as itincreases the firm's management portfolio by 25%. The 17 propertieswill add 2,400 rooms to the company's portfolio, which counts 66operating hotels and four under construction in 14 states and theDistrict of Columbia among its contracts.

The Tidewater portfolio is concentrated primarily in Virginiaand in parts of North Carolina. Many of the hotels are on thebeachfront, located throughout Virginia Beach, Charlottesville,Chesapeake and Bedford in Virginia, as well as Carolina Beach andWilmington in North Carolina.