San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee on Monday signed into law legislation to legalize and tax short-term rentals, such as those listed on Airbnb, in the city, reports the San Francisco Examiner. The new rules allow rentals of 30 days or less, which will be subject to the city’s 14.5% hotel tax.
Under the law, short-term rental hosts must register with the city and live on the premises at least nine months out of the year.
Those opposed to the legislation called for payment of back taxes of an estimated $25 million on rental transactions already completed.
Morgans Hotel Group filed a lawsuit on 24 October to retain management of the Mondrian Soho hotel in New York City following the hotel’s foreclosure and subsequent sale, according to a report in the Real Deal.
Morgans, which has managed the hotel since 2011, claims it would be owed $110 million in fees if its 30-year agreement to manage the 270-room property isn’t honored, according to the suit filed in New York State Supreme Court. The suit names lender German American Capital Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, as well as the Sapir Organization, which paid $205 million for the hotel in June after German American foreclosed on the property last year. The suit also names Taconic Capital Partners, an investment firm that holds an interest in the hotel’s loans.
In its complaint, Morgans contends that its original agreement with developer Sochin Downtown Realty stipulated that Morgans would continue to manage the hotel even in the case of a foreclosure.
Accor has acquired a 35% stake in Mama Shelter, a Paris-based chain of five designed-oriented hotels in France and Turkey. According to a news release announcing the sale, the partnership gives Mama Shelter access to Accor’s distribution and development network.
Expansion plans call for 20 additional properties during the next five years. A Mama Shelter is scheduled to open in Los Angeles in February. Other locations under consideration are Lille, France; a second hotel in Paris; Zurich; Mexico City; Seoul, South Korea; Amsterdam; Barcelona, Spain; New York City; and London.
Owners Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs have hired Eastdil Secured to sell the 186-room Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City, according to a report in Crains New York. Sale price could top the recent $1.4 million per-room sale of the Waldorf Astoria.
Rosen and Fuchs developed the hotel in the mid-2000s with hotelier Ian Schrager. During the recession, the property faltered and defaulted on its mortgage. Rosen and Fuchs bought out Schrager and restructured the hotel’s debt.
According to the report, the owners are considering other options, such as refinancing the property or selling a partial interest.
With 60% of hotel sales in the United Kingdom outside London, some owners are thinking about exiting their assets, reports HNN’s Terence Baker.
It’s a vibrant picture and one not being viewed through rose-tinted glasses, agreed panelists during a session titled “Asset management: Ready, steady … sell!” at the Annual Hotel Conference held last week.
“Start the process as early as you can, with a well-thought plan through from the beginnings of your (capital expenditure) strategy,” said Robert Crook, managing director of the U.K. for Interstate Hotels & Resorts.
“If you have a well-managed business, that process likely will be shorter,” added James Williamson, director, hotels and leisure, for commercial property consultancy GVA. “Keep an eye on what should be and is likely to be demolished, as that might mean less supply and higher valuations for existing stock.”
Compiled by Ed Watkins.