Blackstone and Starwood’s $1.5 Billion Deal Throws Fuel on Extended Stay
Skift Take
Early Check-In
Editor’s Note: Skift Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill brings readers exclusive reporting and insights into hotel deals and development, and how those trends are making an impact across the travel industry.When you hear the term “trophy asset” thrown around in most hotel real estate and investment circles, it usually conjures up images of something like the original Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan or the Raffles in Singapore.
But two of the biggest investor groups can’t turn away from the other end of the hotel spectrum — the very distant other end.
Investment firm giants Blackstone and Starwood Capital are once again joining forces to take over a significant number of extended-stay hotels, budget-minded properties that appeal to a mix of road warrior travelers or people between permanent housing in need of a longer stay.
The two firms plan to buy 111 WoodSpring Suites properties from Brookfield Asset Management for $1.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal first reported Friday. The deal comes less than a year after Blackstone and Starwood Capital teamed up to buy the Extended Stay America chain and its roughly 650 hotels for $6 billion.
This latest deal would not be for the Choice Hotels-owned WoodSpring Suites brand itself. It also isn't for the brand's entire real estate portfolio, a spokesperson on behalf of Choice Hotels told Skift.
But it does make the b
