The property was purchased from a partnership controlled by Mississippi Management, which will continue to operate the property under a two-year performance based contract. The hotel recently completed a significant renovation of its public areas and guestrooms. Equity Inns plans to make additional capital improvements to the property. The company expects to close the transaction by the end of the third quarter.
The hotel is in close proximity to the Orlando Convention Center, which recently completed a 1.5-million-sf addition. Equity Inns' president and CEO Howard Silver could not be reached for comment, but in a released statement said, "The recent doubling of the size of the convention center coupled with ongoing investment and improvements at Universal and Sea World enhances the long-term viability of this submarket. Further, we believe the per room purchase price represents a discount to replacement cost to acquire one of the premier, full-service all-suite hotels serving the International Drive/Convention Center area."
Equity Inns currently owns 125 hotels with 14,845 rooms in 36 states. Other properties the company owns in Orlando are the Homewood Suites, Courtyard (Maitland) and Hampton Inn. For the first quarter, Equity Inns reported a 36% increase in adjusted funds from operation (AFFO) per diluted share to 34 cents for the first quarter, up from 25 cents during the same period last year. Total hotel revenue was $94.1 million during the first quarter, an increase of 30% over the same period last year.
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