BETHESDA, MD-Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has been very active in recent days, both by continuing its acquisition spree and by tapping the capital markets to pay for it. The REIT just closed a public offering of 10.9 million common shares, netting itself $226.3 million in proceeds. It plans to use the financing to acquire hotels, it says.

Make that numerous hotels. The REIT has been steadily gobbling up properties in markets it views as strategic, a category that includes local properties and marquee hotels in California, among others. For example, it just acquired The Westin Gaslamp Quarter hotel for $110 million all-cash. The 450-room, upper upscale, full-service hotel is located in San Diego in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter. Seattle is another favored market for the REIT, which acquired 189-key Hotel Monaco Seattle for $51.2 million, again in cash.

REITs' liquidity have served them well, both in riding out the recession and now, as they start to make investments, NAREIT’s Brad Case has told GlobeSt.com in previous interviews.In the past two years, REITs have tapped the public equity and unsecured debt markets for more than $100 billion, he said. In Q1 2011 alone, REITs raised almost $25 billion, putting the industry well on its way to top the $47 billion raised in 2010. The only year that topped that amount was in 2006, when REITs hauled in a record $49 billion.