Blackstone Weighs Sale of Motel 6 Owner: Report
Skift Take
Blackstone’s real estate division is once again considering selling G6 Hospitality, which owns the Motel 6 and Studio 6 chains, Bloomberg reported Monday.
Blackstone, one of the world’s largest real estate investors, is in talks to gauge interest from potential buyers of the hospitality company, Bloomberg said, citing sources.
A representative for Blackstone declined to comment. G6 Hospitality did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
G6 Hospitality, based in Carrollton, Texas, operates more than 1,400 economy hotels across the U.S. and Canada. Blackstone bought the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands from the Paris-based hotel giant Accor in 2012 as part of a $1.9 billion deal that came with about 1,100 hotels. The private equity firm has since moved to a mostly asset-light model for the business, and that move likely reduced the value of the remaining portfolio.
Budget hotel brands like Motel 6 and Studio 6 outperformed much of the hotel sector during most of the pandemic, but in recent months, economy hotels in the U.S. have performed less well than higher-end properties.
G6 Hospitality CEO Julie Arrowsmith talked up the brand to potential franchisees at the Asian American Hotel Owners Association conference last week. Rob Harper, head of real estate asset management Americas at Blackstone, is a key person at the firm overseeing the G6 Hospitality asset.
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