The forfeited hotels, valued at $173 million by Sunstone, include three in San Diego, Courtyard by Marriott San Diego and Holiday Inn Express San Diego, both in Old Town, and Holiday Inn Downtown. Others in California are Courtyard by Marriott Los Angeles; and Residence Inn by Marriott in Manhattan Beach.

Assets in other states include two in Rochester, NY: Kahler Inn & Suites and Marriott Rochester. On Long Island, NY, there is the Hilton Long Island/Huntington. In Utah, it is giving back Marriott Salt Lake City, in University Park; and Marriott Provo. Also included is Renaissance Atlanta Concourse.

Last year Sunstone gave three other hotels back to lenders, including the San Diego W hotel. In November, the firm said it was considering making acquisitions.Sunstone reiterated that intention in a business update that the company issued Thursday, saying that it "believes that the recent declines in demand for lodging and continuing capital constraintsmay lead to opportunities to acquire hotels at discount valuations." The company is actively analyzing various potential hotel acquisitions, it said.

The default on the Massachussets Mutual Portfolio is part of a strategy that Sunstone outlined last year to reduce its debt and improve its balance sheet. Among other measures, the San Clemente-based REIT went into voluntary default on the $65 million mortgage on its 258-room W Hotel in San Diego.

Sunstone now owns interests in 26 hotels. For those assets, fourth-quarter RevPAR dropped 14.1% , to $97.85, and it fell 18.5% for the full year, to $102.71.