NEW YORK CITY-A 69% improvement in the value of the Blackstone Group’s real estate holdings, including Hilton Worldwide, helped drive a 102% year-over-year rise in its 2010 economic net income and a 75% gain in revenues, the private equity giant said Thursday. The segment also helped Blackstone shrink its 12-month GAAP losses from $715.3 million in 2009 to $370 million in ’10, as well as helping chop quarterly GAAP losses to $11 million from $143.3 million in the fourth quarter of ‘09. Blackstone also said it’s planning to launch another real estate fund later this year.

For ’10, Blackstone’s real estate unit produced revenues of $1 billion, a dramatic improvement on the $13.6-million loss the segment suffered in ‘09. Improved operating performance across the hospitality and office segments led to a rise in carrying values in the real estate portfolios, which drove an increase in performance fees and investment income, according to a release. ENI for the segment was also up sharply, registering $639.5 million for the preceding 12 months compared to a loss of $117.5 million for ‘09.

Year-end results also demonstrated an uptick in Blackstone’s real estate investment activity over the past year. The firm invested $4.1 billion of limited partner capital in ’10, more than four times as much as the $884.2 million deployed the year prior. In particular, Q4 saw $2.3 billion invested, compared to $381.3 million during the same period a year earlier, and the real estate funds had also committed another $332.2 million of capital to transactions that hadn’t closed as of the quarter’s end.

This “active investment pace” means that about 70% of the real estate segment’s $10.9-billion BREP VI opportunity fund has been invested or committed as of Dec. 31, the firm said. “Accordingly, Blackstone expects to commence fundraising for its next real estate fund later in ‘11,” according to the release. In an earnings call Thursday, the firm said the new fund would be comparable in size to BREP VI.

Chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman says in a statement, “Blackstone exited 2010 in a stronger position than ever before, with all of our businesses experiencing higher levels of activity. The carrying values of our investment funds continued to increase sharply, driving our best quarterly earnings result in nearly four years.”

Separately, one of Blackstone’s chief rivals in the hospitality segment, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, also had positive earnings news to report on Thursday. Net income for the White Plains-based owner of the Sheraton, Westin and W brands was $339 million and $1.78 per share in Q4 ’10, compared to a net loss of $107 million and $0.59 per share in the fourth quarter of 2009.

“We ended ‘10 with a strong fourth quarter, and momentum has continued into ’11,” Starwood CEO Frits van Paasschen says in a statement. “Our robust REVPAR growth is fueled by strong global brands along with sales and marketing initiatives. By containing costs we are translating these higher revenues into higher profits.”