The Philadelphia-based REIT, which specializes in hotelproperties, closed on the $12-million purchase of the 112-roomHoliday Inn Express in Cambridge and also completed the acquisitionof a three-property hotel portfolio for $32 million. Hersha pickedup a 96-room Residence Inn in North Dartmouth, a 100-room HawthornSuites in Franklin and an 84-room Comfort Inn in North Dartmouth.All were previously owned by Wayland, MA-based KW Hotel Corp. Thecompany also won the right of first refusal on a fifth property--a100-room Residence Inn now under construction in Norwood.

"We like this market a lot," Ashish Parikh, chief financialofficer with Hersha Hospitality, tells GlobeSt.com. He says thebarriers to entry, recovering economy and strong market growth havemade it one of the key areas of focus for the REIT. Parikh saysHersha plans to re-brand the Franklin property as a HyattSummerfield Suites hotel but will likely make no changes to theother acquisitions.

Hersha owns interest in 58 hotel properties with 7,211 roomsfrom Boston to Washington, DC. Its five other hotel properties inMassachusetts are the Courtyard by Marriott and the Holiday InnExpress--both in South Boston--the Sheraton Four Points at LoganInternational Airport, the Marriott Residence Inn in Framingham andthe Courtyard by Marriott in Brookline.