Braemar to Sell Renaissance Tampa International Plaza for $68M

The closing on the sale of the Renaissance Tampa International Hotel is expected in the second quarter and will complete a reverse 1031 exchange initiated to acquire the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota in April for approximately $171 million.

The deal with the undisclosed buyer for the 293-room Renaissance Tampa International hotel calculates out to approximately $232,000 per key.

TAMPA, FL—Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc. reports it has reached a definitive agreement to sell its Renaissance Tampa International Hotel here for $68 million.

The deal with the undisclosed buyer for the 293-room hotel calculates out to approximately $232,000 per key. The sales price represents a trailing 12-month cap rate of 8.2% on net operating income as of March 31, 2018. Dallas-based Braemar, formerly operated as Ashford Hospitality Prime, says the sale is part of the company’s ongoing effort to dispose of non-core hotels. The firm announced that initiative back in 2017.

The closing on the sale of the Renaissance Tampa International Hotel is expected in the second quarter and will complete a reverse 1031 exchange initiated to acquire the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota in April for approximately $171 million.

“This agreement to sell the Renaissance Tampa moves us closer to finalization of our portfolio realignment initiative,” says Richard J. Stockton, Braemar’s president and CEO. “With the recent acquisition of the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, we saw this sale as an opportunity to replace a lower RevPAR property with a much higher RevPAR property in order to increase our overall portfolio RevPAR.”

He adds that adding the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota resort property allows Braemar to capitalize on the recent strong trends in the luxury chain scale, being fueled by resort guests “seeking experiential travel opportunities.”

The REIT, which as of April 24 officially rebranded from Ashford Hospitality Prime to Braemar Hotels & Resorts, reports the Renaissance Tampa is the lowest RevPAR asset in its portfolio. The hotel has an existing allocated debt balance of approximately $35.3 million. Based upon the prior 12-month period ended March 31, 2018, the Renaissance Tampa achieved RevPAR of $158 with occupancy of 83% and an average daily room rate of $191.

As part of the company’s realignment of its portfolio, the company announced in June 2017 it had reached an agreement to convert its Courtyard Philadelphia Downtown hotel to an Autograph Collection property. Last November it reported it had sold its 404-room Marriott Plano Legacy Town Center hotel in Plano, TX for $104 million and reached an agreement to convert its Courtyard San Francisco Downtown hotel to an Autograph Collection property.

Braemar’s other Florida resort property is the 142-room Pier House Resort & Spa in Key West.