The hotel manager tells GlobeSt.com that the auction is "betweenthe owner and the bank and is just about real estate." Calls toThayer Lodging were not returned by deadline. The manager notesthat as far as the hotel is concerned, only the owner is changing."Marriott is going to continue to manage the hotel," he says.

The sale is indicative of the hotel market in the area, whichcontinues to struggle with its occupancy rates. Paul Briggs, asenior real estate economist at Property & Portfolio Researchtells GlobeSt.com that there is a surprisingly strong amount of newsupply in the Greater Boston and Boston markets. He points out thatdemand is starting to improve as the economy gets stronger.According to Briggs, the hotel occupancy rate for the metropolitanarea at the end of the first quarter of this year was at 60.3%. Hesays that his firm expects that figure to up to 61.6% by the end ofthe year. "It's not the 75.5% occupancy we had in 2000, but thenumbers are moving up," he adds.