Skip to content

Carey Watermark Investors Acquires Newly-Built Hotel in Atlanta

Carey Watermark Investors Incorporated (CWI), a public, non-traded real estate investment trust that focuses on opportunities in the lodging industry, announced today that it acquired a dual-branded, select-service hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. The property features 228 guestrooms and boasts the Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites brands.

Built in 2013, the property was designed with concrete and steel-framed construction, an above-grade parking deck, and many high-quality finishes throughout.

“The acquisition of the Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton Midtown Atlanta hotel represented the opportunity to invest in a newly-built, quality dual-branded hotel with strong brand affiliations in one of the most significant business districts in the Southeast,” commented Michael Medzigian, Chief Executive Officer of CWI.

Centrally located in Midtown Atlanta, the hotel is positioned amongst the 14 million square-foot office market which includes companies like The Coca-Cola Company, Equifax, Invesco, EarthLink, and eight of Atlanta’s ten largest law firms. It’s adjacent to Interstate 75/85 and only 12 miles from the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

“The property generates attractive cash-flow and we believe will continue to benefit not only from the strong demand generated by the corporate market, but also the leisure demand generated by the robust Midtown market. Our ability to acquire a high quality, well-positioned asset in a strong market enhances the long-term cash generating capability of our portfolio,” added Medzigian.

Crescent Hotels & Resorts (Crescent), a national, independent hotel operator, will manage the hotel. Crescent currently operate over 90 hotels and resorts with about 19,000 rooms across 29 states and Canada and is one of a small group of independent management companies approved to operate hotels under the Hilton brand.

The hotel features 136 Hilton Garden Inn-branded guestrooms and 92 Homewood Suites-branded rooms, plus over 3,000 square feet of meeting space, views of the Midtown and Downtown skylines, two lobbies and reception desks, two breakfast areas, a heated, outdoor swimming pool, a 24-hour fitness center, two business centers, and a restaurant.

CWI’s portfolio, valued at just over $2 billion, consists of 27 properties and 6,676 rooms as of December 31, 2014. The REIT has outperformed the U.S. lodging industry in occupancy rate and ADR or average daily rate which is room revenue divided by rooms sold. For 2014, CWI’s occupancy rate was 75.6 percent compared to 64.4 percent for the industry and its ADR was $193.91 versus $115.45.