In California, buying a hotel might be the new hottest thing.
Hotel sales in California have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic, according to a new report from advisory firm Atlas Hospitality.
A total of 293 hotels — totaling almost 28,600 keys — were sold across California in the first six months of 2021, up from 114 during the same period in 2020. Around 70 percent of these hotels sold for over $5 million, compared with 50 percent in 2020.
In Los Angeles County, 48 hotels changed hands in the first half of 2021, up from 16 in the first six months of 2020.
The 580-key Hyatt Regency at LAX and the 175-key Le Merigot hotel in Santa Monica tied for most expensive sale in Los Angeles — both sold earlier this year for $75 million.
Both of those hotels sold for way above the average. Across the county, the average sale clocked in at $18 million — a steep increase from the $8 million average in the first half of 2020.
Though buyers weren’t interested in every Californian city.
Only three hotels changed hands in San Francisco County — the same number as the first half of 2020. But, the county saw one whopping sale.
Maryland-based investment firm Pebblebrook Hotel Trust sold the historic 417-key Sir Francis Drake Hotel near Union Square in San Francisco for $157.6 million in April to an unknown buyer.