LOS ANGELES—Private real estate investment and development company Laurus Corporation has plans to build on its hotel portfolio throughout the remainder of 2013.
The company has nine hotel assets in its portfolio and intends to close on two additional hotel properties by the end of the year, said Austin Khan, chief investment officer at Laurus.
“We love the opportunities we’re seeing,” Khan said during a recent telephone interview.
Khan said Laurus is focusing primarily on the acquisition of full-service properties; eight of the nine hotels in the company’s portfolio are full-service hotels. The company is looking for these deals in the top 30 markets.
Officials at Laurus might also consider select-service hotels, he said. “We’re always on the lookout for opportunities,” Khan said.
Laurus looks for properties that have debt maturity issues or are perhaps in need of renovation, Khan said.
While much of the hotel industry is pining after select-service assets, Laurus is swimming against the stream in going after full-service hotels. The reason for that, Khan said, is because “there are a lot more levers to pull” in trying to build the revenue base for these types of hotels.
The price point to acquire full-service properties is compelling, Khan added. “There’s an opportunity to buy at an attractive basis.”
He added, however, he expects hotel values to continue to increase. That sentiment was echoed recently by the “2013 HVS-STR U.S. Hotel Valuation Index” that found hotel values during 2012 increased by 20% on average. That equates to an average increase in price per key of $15,687. /Article/11021/Hotel-values-to-increase-through-2016
“We see value increasing a lot,” Khan said.
While the company has designs on being active, Khan noted the U.S. hotel investment environment is challenging right now.