Transactions

Hotel & Motel Management, August 14, 2000

Agreements

Gensler Architecture was chosen as the primary designer for the renovation of the 242-room, 47-suite Le Meridien at Beverly Hills, Calif.

Lodge Keeper Group, a subsidiary of Buckhead America Corp., added four hotels to the group's management portfolio. The company, which now manages 55 properties, plans to add about 20 more properties by the end of the year. Majestic Realty Co. hired Dolce International to manage the 294-room Industry Hills Sheraton Resort and Conference Center in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California.

Millennium Hotels and Resorts retained M Silver Associates to conduct the company's public relations in North America.

Hyatt International is the first company to subscribe to TravelCLICK--a provider of historical, electronic-booking data from the global distribution system and the Internet.

Regency Purchasing Group, a subsidiary of Nationwide Hotel Supply, will handle the renovation of the 854-room Inter-Continental Chicago. Bovis Land Lease will handle the construction portion of the project.

Development

Candlewood Hotel Co. is developing its 100th property: the Candlewood Suites in Columbia, Mo.

MGM Grand could begin developing a megaresort on the 55-acre tract between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts. Subsequent to the company's acquisition of Mirage Resorts, the company has 18 properties with annual revenues of $4.2 billion.

Omni Hotels will transform the former Financial Center Building in San Francisco into a 365-room luxury hotel. The $100-million project is expected to open in January, 2002.

R.D. Olson Construction will build a SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Hawthorn, Calif. The $8-million property will have 164 suites, meeting rooms, a fitness area, buffet lounge and pool.

Redding Rancheria Economic Development Corp. proposed to develop a 102-room Hilton Garden Inn. The property will be owned by Win River Hotel Corp., and it will be managed by Hotel Managers Group LLC.

St. Cloud Development Co. is building a 64-room AmericInn in Sidney, Neb.

Financing

Continental Wingate Capital provided $71 million of financing for conduit, FNMA and FHA loan programs in May. The financings include two acquisition loans, two new-construction loans and three refinancings. Among the represented facilities was the 178-room Holiday Inn in Galveston, Texas, which refinanced with an $11.7-million loan.

Morgan Stanley Senior Funding arranged a $200-million, Tranche D-term Loan for Extended StayAmerica, which now has $1 billion, available from bank-credit facilities.

Memberships

Best Western International added two properties to its membership ranks: a 54-room hotel in Salisbury, N.C., and a 40-room property in Navasota, Texas.

The 326-room Le Meridien Hotel in Boston now is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, a consortium of 340 upper-upscale hotels. The 144-room Regent Wall Street in New York, Hotel Crescent Court in Dallas and The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas also joined the organization.

National Trust Historic Hotels of America added five new members to its 150-property program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation: the 57-room The Cliff House Inn in Manitou Springs, Colo.; the 138-room Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine, Fla.; the 326-suite The Georgian Terrace in Atlanta; the 212-room The Lenox in Boston; and the 297-room Seaview Marriott Resort in Absecon, N.J.

Openings

Annett Holdings opened a 103-room Best Inn & Suites in Des Moines, Iowa.

Bram Hospitality & Development LLC opened a 75-suite Hawthorn Suites LTD in Pineville, N.C.

Citylife Hotel Group opened ThirtyThirty in Midtown Manhattan.

Forest City Ratner Cos. opened two, Hilton-franchised properties in New York. The 463-suite Embassy Suites Hotel New York City anchors an entertainment and retail complex that includes a 16-screen Regal Cinema, and the 444-room Hilton Times Square sits atop a 330,000-square-foot retail and entertainment complex that includes a 25-theater AMC megaplex.

Handy Builders of London, Ky., opened a 50-room Country Hearth Inn in Renfro Valley-Mt. Vernon, Ky.

The 223-room Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort opened in Palm Beach County, Fla. The property, which is managed by Crestline Hotel & Resorts, formerly was the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort. The property features balconies and an ocean-front view in every guestroom.

Two new Inter-Continental hotels opened in May: the 189-room Inter-Continental Stephen F. Austin in Austin, Texas, and the 150-room Inter-Continental Miami Airport West.

Meads Enterprises opened an 81-room Microtel Inn & Suites in Elizabeth City, N.C.

Monica Enterprises opened a 125-room Best Inn & Suites in Midland, Texas.

Northwest Hospitality Group will manage the new, $5-million, 78-room Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites in Vancouver, Wash.

Pillar Investments of Madisson, N.C., opened a 71-room Microtel Inn & Suites in Hillsborough, N.C.

Pravin Kumar Patel opened an 82-unit Comfort Suites in Gresham, Ore.

Progressive Lodging Corp. opened the 64-suite Hawthorn Suites in Kalamazoo, Mich.