The three-year-old portfolio consists of Renaissance Hotels,SpringHill Suites and Courtyards in Sunbelt states and parts of theMidwest and Northeast. Moody National says it plans to put another$20 million into upgrading the assets. Brett Moody, chairman andCEO of Moody National Cos., says the buy will give his companycontrol of the Marriott brand in East Rutherford, NJ and West DesMoines, IA. "This will give us good pricing power," he says, addingthat upgrades will include new television sets. Concord Managementwill continue managing the assets.

Moody tells GlobeSt.com that there is no plan to flip any partof the portfolio anytime soon, especially since eight hotels carryexisting debt assumed by the buyer that comes due in 2009. "We'llrecondition those with different debt when they become available inthe next couple of years," he says. To date, seven of the eightloans have been assumed, with the Courtyard Pittsburgh Shadyside at5308 Liberty Ave. in Pittsburgh, set to trade within 60 days. MoodyNational Mortgage Corp., also in Houston, arranged financing for 12hotels through New York City-based Citigroup Global Markets RealtyCorp.

Moody explains the investment already has yielded some benefits,pointing out that the portfolio's NOI had increased by $2.7 millionbetween the purchase contract and the closing. The portfolio'soccupancy is 73.5%; its average daily room rate is $115.29.