Hodges Ward Elliott Represents Ashford Hospitality Trust in Placement of $145 M in Non-recourse Financing On Five Hotels

ATLANTA, GA—Officials of Hodges Ward Elliott, Inc. (HWE), the nation’s premier hotel brokerage and investment banking firm, announced that it represented Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc., in the placement of $145 million in non-recourse financing on five of the REIT’s hotels.

The six-year financing includes a first mortgage from Prudential and a mezzanine loan from Wheelock Street LLC.

The five hotels, aggregating 1,460 rooms, include four Embassy Suites and one Hilton Hotel, are strategically located in four states: Embassy Suites Santa Clara, Silicon Valley, Calif (middle right photo),  Embassy Suites Crystal City (bottom left photo), National Airport, Va.; Embassy Suites Orlando Airport, Fla., (top left photo)  Embassy Suites, Portland Downtown, Ore. (bottom right photo) , and Hilton Orange County, Costa Mesa, Calif.

Two additional properties that were included in the maturing loans, the Hilton Rye Town, Rye Brook, N.Y. and Hilton Suites, Auburn Hills, Mich., are now unencumbered.

“Even though the credit markets remain quite constrained due to liquidity and price impairments, there is capital available to finance large, sophisticated transactions such as this,” said Mark Elliott (top right photo),  principal of Hodges Ward Elliott.

 “Our brokerage expertise allowed us to credibly establish the highest values in the underwriting process, thus maximizing proceeds for our client.

"We utilized our strong financial relationships and market knowledge to create a capital structure that provided the lenders with an appropriate risk/reward. We presented the borrower with a number of investment solution alternatives and then structured the recapitalization. By bringing these financial needs to the market, we were able to negotiate and finalize terms as dictated by the marketplace.

“We believe this transaction will be a bellwether that sets in motion a greater interest in lending and recapitalization of major transactions by institutional investors, which we believe is an early indicator of a stabilizing market,” Elliott noted.

 “With forecasts from hotel industry consultants predicting a recovery in the second half of 2010, confidence is beginning to return to the marketplace.”

Ashford used the proceeds to pay off a $75.0 million loan that matures next year and a $65.2 million loan maturing in 2011 that were secured by the five properties. In addition, the new loan provides $4.0 million for capital improvements at the hotels to be implemented over the next two years.

“We are seeing greater interest and activity in both financing and hotel real estate transactions than at any time in the past 18 months,” Elliott said. “We expect to see the number and size of hotel transactions and financings increase substantially in 2010.”

Contact: Jerry Daly or Chris Daly , (703) 435-6293

Al Calhoun Rejoins Hodges Ward Elliott as Senior Managing Director, Select Service Division

ATLANTA, September 21, 2009—Hodges Ward Elliott, Inc. (HWE), the nation’s premier hotel brokerage and investment banking firm, today announced that Al Calhoun has rejoined the firm as senior managing director, select service division.

“Our relationship with Al goes back nearly two decades, and it is a delight to welcome him back to our firm after a nine-year sabbatical,” said Mark Elliott, (top right photo) principal of Hodges Ward Elliott. “His experience in the select service segment is unparalleled, and he adds tremendous depth to our 10-person select service team. Combined with our full-service and Europe divisions, we now have the deepest and most experienced hotel transaction team in the industry.”

 In his new role, he will be responsible for leading and growing HWE’s select service division, including brokerage, investment and advisory services. He will work closely with Anthony Falor, who will remain managing director of the select service division. HWE has closed more than $2 billion in select service transactions in the past five years. Select service currently represents approximately 30 percent of HWE’s transaction volume.

Contact:  Jerry Daly or Chris Daly, (703) 435-6293
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Hodges Ward Elliott to Introduce New Marketing Concepts in Response to Change in Hotel Real Estate Dynamics

ATLANTA, GA, June 1, 2009—Hodges Ward Elliott, Inc. (HWE), the nation’s premier hotel brokerage and investment banking firm, today announced that it will introduce new proprietary marketing concepts to respond to the change in hotel real estate dynamics and the expected market shift in hotel real estate transactions over the next six to 24 months.

Hotel veteran Bill Linehan (top right photo) has joined the firm to spearhead the new marketing and new business development program.

In addition, the company announced that Chris Martin has joined its London office.

“We see similar opportunities in the coming months that we experienced when the RTC came into being in the early 1990s,” said Mark Elliott, (middle right photo) principal of Hodges Ward Elliott.

“We responded then by introducing the next generation of highly creative and information-rich sales and marketing documents that provided better information to the investor market.

"We believe the stagnation of transactions caused by the current credit crisis is creating another ‘perfect storm’ that will require new tools and techniques, as well as introduce a new generation of buyers.”

Elliott noted that a variety of capital approaches are recalibrating the playing field. “We are consulting with a number of new private investors that are gearing up for a surge in acquisitions.

"We also are working closely with existing clients to help crystallize their capital strategies. This combination, which includes new debt and equity structures, demands new approaches to the hotel investment banking and transaction market.”

“In our nearly 35 years as a firm through numerous real estate cycles, we know that the first-in investor will generate the highest returns,” said Bill Hodges, (top left photo) principal of HWE.

“However, those investors will require data, insight, strategies and a strong courage of conviction.
“Over the past three years, our firm completed more than $12 billion in transactions and our goal is to continue to be the industry-leader,” he said. “The largest transfer of wealth in a generation has begun and it will affect the hotel industry well into the future.”

“The current economic crisis has created a new paradigm, and we expect the next 12 to 24 months to be game-changing as the credit crisis has brought more rigor to the process,” said Bob Webster, (bottom right photo) HWE managing director.

“Although there has been only nominal transaction activity during the first half of 2009, prospective buyers are becoming more engaged and decisive in their acquisition initiatives. On the sell side, we are listing a number of portfolios and strategic individual assets, which we believe is a leading indicator of the next series of transactions.”

Contact: Jerry Daly or Chris Daly, (703) 435-6293

Hodges Ward Elliott Closes Year with Sale of Three Hotels

Remainder of Larger Portfolio Expected to Close in First Quarter

ATLANTA, GA—Hodges Ward Elliott, Inc. (HWE), the nation’s premier hotel brokerage and investment banking firm, represented Vista Host in the sale of three properties to an undisclosed buyer on the last day of 2008.

The properties are Hampton Inns in Pittsburgh, Pa., (bottom left photo) Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (top right photo) and Jackson, Tenn.

HWE represented Vista Host on a fourth property, the Courtyard by Marriott in Jackson, Tenn. earlier in December, and additional properties from the same portfolio are scheduled to close early in 2009.

“Savvy, long-term hotel investors with solid financial resources and strong relationships with lenders take full advantage of the real estate cycle, selecting the most opportune times to acquire,” said Bill Hodges, (bottom right photo) a principal of HWE.

“From a historic perspective, we are entering the initial phase of a major hotel acquisition opportunity period that holds significant upside potential. Over the next five years, these strategic buyers will generate significant returns.”

Founded in 1975, HWE is the world’s leading hotel brokerage and investment firm, completing more than $20 billion in hospitality real estate and investment banking transactions over the past 11 years.

Contact: Jerry Daly or Chris Daly, (703) 435-6293

Hodges Ward Elliott Completes $55M Financing for Denver Ritz-Carlton

DENVER, CO/PRNewswire/ -- Hodges Ward Elliott (HWE), the nation's premier hotel brokerage and investment banking firm, has completed a $55 million mortgage loan for the Ritz-Carlton Denver (top right photo) , a 202- room luxury hotel.

HWE represented the owner, CJS Hotel, LLC, in the transaction.

"Despite the recent turmoil in the market, financing for upscale and luxury hotels remains available," said Mark Elliott, (top left photo) principal of Hodges Ward Elliott.

"Current economic concerns dictate that new financing will require more expertise and creativity to bring these loans to completion. We have more than two decades of financing experience and expect to continue to be a major player in this segment in the coming months, especially when the current logjam in transactions begins to resolve itself."

Located at 1881 Curtis Street in downtown Denver, the Ritz-Carlton boasts the largest number of guest rooms in the city.

The hotel's signature restaurant, (bottom left photo) Elway's, named for Denver Bronco quarterback and NFL Hall of Fame inductee John Elway,(middle right photo) offers an exceptional food and wine experience and is popular with both locals and hotel guests. In addition, the hotel has 13,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.

Founded in 1975, HWE is the world's leading hotel brokerage and investment firm, completing more than $20 billion in hospitality real estate and investment banking transactions over the past 11 years.

The company provides brokerage and investment banking services through four divisions: the HWE Full-Service/Luxury Hotel and Resort Division, which concentrates on assets valued at greater than $10 million; the International Division, which provides hospitality real estate services through its London office, the Focused- Service Division, which concentrates on hospitality transactions up to $10 million and the Golf Division.

Contact: Jerry Daly or Chris Daly, Daly Gray Public Relations, (703) 435-6293.

Hodges Ward Elliott Announces Sales of Rockland Radisson and Milford Sheraton

Firm’s First-Half 2008 Sales in Excess of $1 Billion


ATLANTA, GA—Hodges Ward Elliott (HWE), the nation’s premier hotel brokerage and investment banking firms, has announced the sales of the 127-room Rockland Radisson Hotel (top left photo)) and the 173-room Milford Sheraton Hotel (middle right photo).

Both properties are located in Massachusetts and were sold to the Linchris Hotel Corporation on behalf of Ashford Hospitality Trust.

“The Massachusetts marketplace remains much in demand among hoteliers, with its high barriers to new entry and top-tier destination locations,” said Bill Hodges (top right photo), principal of Hodges Ward Elliott.

“While the economy has cooled, we continue to see large numbers of interested buyers and sellers in the hotel industry, with our firm’s transactions exceeding $1 billion through June. The expectations gap between buyers and sellers has begun to narrow, which should positively impact the level of sales going forward.”

“The transaction was complicated by several factors, not to mention the challenging economic environment, but the buyer and seller worked through them in a highly professional manner,” said Hodges Ward Elliott's Tim Southard, (bottom left photo) who worked closely with the buyer.

Founded in 1975, HWE is the world’s leading hotel brokerage and investment firm, completing more than $21 billion in hospitality real estate and investment banking transactions over the past 11 years.

The company provides brokerage and investment banking services through four divisions: the HWE Full-Service/Luxury Hotel and Resort Division, which concentrates on assets valued at greater than $10 million; the International Division, which provides hospitality real estate services through its London office, the Focused-Service Division, which concentrates on hospitality transactions up to $10 million and the Golf Division.

Contacts: Jerry Daly or Chris Daly, Daly Gray Public Relations, ph: 703-435-6293