Host Hotels Eyeing Sale of “Noncore” Properties

Host Hotels & Resorts is ready to unload a portfolio of properties as the next step in the company’s decade-long shift.

Host is working with an adviser to market at least 10 properties, Bloomberg reported. The portfolio of hotels going up for sale is valued at more than $1 billion, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Buyers are being invited to bid on specific properties in the portfolio. Among those believed to be available are the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, W Seattle and the Coronado Island Marriott.

Host declined to comment.

Chief executive officer James Risoleo signaled months ago that such a selloff could be coming. During an investor call in November, Risoleo said the company would likely explore the market for “noncore” assets that didn’t fit into the long-term “direction that we have moved in over the last seven or eight years.”

At the time, Risoleo said that they’ll only sell assets at an attractive price and would otherwise hang on to them and reinvest in the properties.

Demand for hotel dealmaking picked up in 2024. A survey by LW Hospitality Advisors found there were 356 sales in the sector for over $10 million, totaling $14.3 billion with an average deal size of $40.2 million.

The number of sales increased 4 percent year-over-year, according to LWHA, while dollar volume grew 12 percent over the same period. The average deal size also rose nearly 7 percent annually, though the sale price per room remained flat.

While Host is looking to sell a bunch of properties, it has also bought a couple of significant properties in the hospitality market.

Last year, it bought 1 Hotel Central Park in New York City from Starwood Capital Group for $265 million. The company downsized the mortgage backing the property when it made the acquisition.

Additionally, Host acquired the 1 Hotel Nashville and the adjacent Embassy Suites for $500 million from an investment group that included Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood.

— Holden Walter-Warner