Here are South Florida’s biggest hotel sales in 2020

Few hotels traded during the pandemic, with top two closing in January for $120M, each

Shelborne South Beach and Seagull Hotel (Shelborne, Google Maps)
Shelborne South Beach and Seagull Hotel (Shelborne, Google Maps)

The hotel market was among the hardest hit sectors of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, resulting in many owners scrambling to survive.

After many hotels laid off the majority of their staff in March and subsequent months, a number of properties remained closed until the winter. And some have yet to reopen, as domestic and international travel remains low.

In South Florida, the pandemic led to forbearance agreements with lenders, some foreclosure filings, new equity investors, out-of-court UCC foreclosures, merging of ownership, and properties hitting the market. For properties marketed for sale – either on the market or quietly among brokers – pricing is another issue, as many sellers and opportunistic buyers can’t agree on valuations, experts say. As a result, few hotels traded in 2020, and the two largest deals – each for $120 million – closed in January, before the pandemic caused a major disruption to the U.S. economy.

Here’s a look at the top 10 hotel sales this year:

Russell Galbut, WP Carey sell Shelborne South Beach for $120M
W.P. Carey and Russell Galbut sold the oceanfront Shelborne South Beach for $120 million in January to a joint venture of King Street Real Estate GP, Westdale Properties and Cedar Capital Partners. The buyers acquired the majority of the condo-hotel rooms at the 257-key condo-hotel at 1801 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. W.P. Carey, a real estate investment trust, and Galbut, a principal of Crescent Heights, sold 218 units.

Lionheart and Jeffrey Dagowitz sell Seagull Hotel Miami Beach for $120M
Lionheart Capital and Actium Development Co. sold the Seagull Hotel Miami Beach for $120 million, also in January. JHG Holdings Miami Owner LLC, a joint venture between Lionheart, led by Ophir Sternberg, and hotelier Jeffrey Dagowitz’s Actium, sold the waterfront hotel to BHI Miami Limited, a Delaware entity led by Nabil Kobeissi. The hotel at 100 21st Street traded two years after Lionheart and Dagowitz bought it at auction for $31.1 million, and the property will be redeveloped into a Bulgari hotel.

Banyan Investment buys Gale Fort Lauderdale hotel from Harvey Hernandez
Developer Harvey Hernandez sold the completed — but as yet unopened — Gale Hotel in Fort Lauderdale for nearly $23 million in December. Hernandez’s Tiffany Hotel LP sold the 96-key hotel at 2900 Riomar Street on Fort Lauderdale Beach to Atlanta-based Banyan Investment Group. The boutique hotel traded for about $250,000 per room.

Jeff Greene buys hotel in Boynton Beach for $19M
Billionaire West Palm Beach developer Jeff Greene bought a hotel in Boynton Beach for $19 million. Boulder Hotel Boynton Beach LLC, led by Malcolm Berman of Delray Beach, sold the 171-key Courtyard By Marriott Boynton Beach at 1601 North Congress Avenue for $111,000 per room.

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Privé Group snags hotel near Fort Lauderdale airport for $17M
Privé Group purchased a Hampton Inn near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for $17.3 million. Richmond, Virginia-based Apple Hospitality REIT sold the Hampton Inn Fort Lauderdale Airport North Cruise Port to North Miami Beach-based Privé, led by Javier Rabinovich and Mariano Karner. The 109-key hotel at 2301 Southwest 12th Avenue traded in January for $158,000 per key, records show.

Estate Companies buys shuttered Hialeah Ramada for $15M
Apartment developer The Estate Companies bought a former Ramada Inn in Hialeah.
The developer paid $15.3 million for the 5-acre property at 1950 West 49th Street. Property records show UCH1 LLC, Miami Corporate Partners LLC, Bidart Dairy II LLC, Kern land Partners LLC and Kern Land Holdings LP were the sellers. The 258-room hotel last sold in 2014 for $13.5 million. Urban Commons, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment and development firm, owned 45 percent of the property via affiliate UCH1 LLC.

Blackstone sells Marriott hotel in Boca Raton
Blackstone Group sold a Residence Inn by Marriott in Boca Raton for $14.25 million to a group of South Florida investors who plan to redevelop it into a mixed-use project.
The New York-based private equity giant sold the 120-room extended-stay hotel at 525 Northwest 77th Street to Shane Neman, principal of Neman Ventures; and Richard Waserstein and Mauricio Bello of Waterstone Capital. The deal equates to $118,750 per key.

Embattled Sixty Sixty condo-hotel’s units in Miami Beach sell for $11.5M
Schecher Group sold 65 units at the Sixty Sixty hotel in Miami Beach for $11.5 million to Integra Investments. The condo-hotel at 6060 Indian Creek Drive was once the subject of a fierce foreclosure battle. The deal gave Miami-based Integra a majority of the units at the hotel. Ballestas said in November that the company and its partner, Sagar Desai of Miami-based Activate Hospitality, planned to complete improvements and relaunch the hotel next season.

Motel 6 in Lantana sells to Hare Krishna company for $6M
The Hare Krishna Lantana Hotel company bought a Motel 6 for $8.4 million in January.
Carrollton, Texas-based G6 hospitality sold the 154-unit motel at 1310 West Lantana Road to Hare Krishna Lantana Hotel, managed by Vijay Patel. It last traded for $5.7 million in 2012, records show.The Motel 6 sits on 3 acres off of I-95 near West Lantana Road and was developed in 1988. G6 Hospitality was founded by William Becker and Paul Greene in 1962. The company owns, operates, and franchises more than 1,400 economy lodging locations under the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands in the United States and Canada and the Hotel 6 brand in India.

Former actor sells Miami Gardens hotel for $6M
A former actor sold a 103-room hotel in Miami Gardens for $6 million to Good Night Inn and Suite Baymeadow 770 LLC, a company affiliated with hotelier Yuval Fishman. The Hotel Roma Golden Glades Resort at 16805 Northwest 12th Avenue sold for about $58,000 per room. The sellers are companies affiliated with Francisco Martinez Celeiro, who acted in spaghetti western films under the name George Martin, and now runs the Miami-based Pegaso property management company with his son, Francisco Martinez-Miyashiki.

SOURCE: Data provided by commercial real estate brokerages such as Colliers International and confirmed with market reports, public records and news clippings.