13 March 2012
Hotel investment through buying hotel notes As the economy and hotel fundamentals continue to improve, hotel note purchase opportunities will be one of the most attractive hotel investments for savvy investors.
My partner and Vice Chair of our Global Hospitality Group®, Guy Maisnik, has been working a lot on note purchases lately, and I asked him to share some insights with us, which he graciously consented to do with his article today.
25 October 2011
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On Friday, October 21, 2011 I did a Q&A interview with the National Real Estate Bisnow about Chinese investment in U.S. hotels. Here is the full Question & Answer exchange, a portion of which appeared in the Biznow article.
There’s been an explosion of Chinese investment in the US, especially real estate. And many people believe it will surpass the Japanese investment of the late ’80s (estimated to have exceeded $120B).
There’s been an explosion of Chinese investment in US real estate. Who’s investing and where, and how much investment do you expect in 2011?
The increasing wave of Chinese investment in the U.S. is being fueled by the Chinese government (generally acting through construction companies, banks and other intermediary companies) and an exploding class of wealthy Chinese. The top .05% wealthiest Chinese have investible funds of more than $2.7 trillion, and there is a rapidly growing class of billionaires and more than 800,000 millionaires. Plus there is a huge rising middle class looking to travel and enjoy life.
Of course, in addition to Mainland China there are the Chinese in Taiwan, and everywhere else such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Indonesia.
A recent Merchants Bank report estimates that rich Chinese individuals — those with assets of more than 10 million yuan — have about 3.6 trillion yuan ($564 billion) invested overseas. No reliable numbers are available for total Chinese foreign investment or Chinese investment in the United States. The investors are largely staying under the radar to avoid publicity and possible adverse reactions, and there seems to be no means to track the investments and get an aggregate investment number.
31 August 2011
Hotel Lenders: Do you know how due diligence for hotel lending differs from due diligence for other commercial real estate lending? More expertise, more time, more resources.
We have seen far too many hotel lenders “who don’t know what they don’t know” when underwriting a hotel loan, but then get a very expensive education post foreclosure. The due diligence required in hotel lending is far more intensive than for any other kind of real estate lending and requires far more expertise. The article below by my partner Guy Maisnik gives a few examples.
If you would like a refresher as to why hotel lending is different from other kinds of real estate lending, you may want to refer to (see, Why hotel lending is different and 8 pitfalls of hotel lending and how to avoid them).
Please see the links at the end of this article for other articles in the “What every hotel lender needs to know” series.
24 August 2011
Hotel Lenders: Will you control the revenues of your hotel after foreclosure? Are you sure? What could go wrong? A lot can go wrong with lender expectations in a hotel loan unless the hotel loan documents are prepared by knowledgeable hotel lending lawyers.
In today’s blog post, Guy Maisnik highlights the importance of the hotel lender keeping control over revenues post foreclosure, and explains why it doesn’t always happen.
If you would like a refresher as to why hotel lending is different from other kinds of real estate lending, you may want to refer to (see, Why hotel lending is different and 8 pitfalls of hotel lending and how to avoid them).
Please see the links at the end of this article for other articles in the “What every hotel lender needs to know” series.
18 August 2011
Hotel Lenders: What should every hotel lender consider in the SNDA before making a hotel loan? Here’s what to look for.
In today’s blog, my partner Guy Maisnik discusses the importance of something most lenders do not seem to adequately understand (until it is too late) and which often ensnares the lender when the loan gets in trouble – the Subordination, Non-Disturbance and Attornment Agreement or “SNDA“.
If you would like a refresher as to why hotel lending is different from other kinds of real estate lending, you may want to refer to (see, Why hotel lending is different and 8 pitfalls of hotel lending and how to avoid them).
Please see the links at the end of this article for other articles in the “What every hotel lender needs to know” series.
17 August 2011
Tips from the Hotel Lending Lawyer: Hotel loan problems and hotel loan document issues are best dealt with at the loan origination. Do you know these fundamentals about your hotel loan documents dealing with hotel management agreements (HMAs) and hotel franchise agreements? There is a long list of things every hotel lender should take into account before making a loan so that it will be protected when a default occurs — much less a foreclosure. But few considerations are as important as dealing with issues raised by HMAs and hotel franchises.
Over the years, we have counseled hotel developers, owners and lenders as they try to fix bad hotel deals and repair bad hotels loans. Often, their problems could have been avoided if experienced hotel advisors had reviewed the necessary documents with a practiced eye, connecting the dots and filling in the blanks before the loan was underwritten.
Hotel lending experience is the key
Lenders need hotel-specific experience — not just real estate experience — because, as my partner Guy Maisnik writes in his article below, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” And what you don’t know can cost you a bundle.
Because a hotel’s operating business is inextricably intertwined with single-purpose real estate, the borrower’s financial obligations are exceedingly complex. We have written other blogs about why hotel lending is different from other kinds of real estate lending, that you may want to read (see, Why hotel lending is different and 8 pitfalls of hotel lending and how to avoid them).
Guy has more than three decades experience in hotel and commercial real estate finance and has recently assisted 3 major lenders in revising and structuring their hotel lending programs and documentation, including their hotel construction lending. In this eye-opening series of articles, Guy discusses how hotel lenders often find unpleasant surprises with hotel loans when they don’t get experienced hotel counsel to prepare their loan documents. And real estate lending experience is not hotel lending experience!
Please see the links at the end of this article for other articles in the “What every hotel lender needs to know” series.
01 June 2011
Debt is returning, equity is out looking, and we’ve passed the bottom of the trough. Why now is the time to purchase a hotel.
We promised to let you know when Hotel Business® published its coverage of its 2011 Executive Roundtable–Capital Ideas: Financing Solutions For Opportunistic Dealmakers that took place on May 2, 2011 in Los Angeles prior to Meet the Money®. The current issue of Hotel Business® just hit my mail box and the articles covering the Executive Roundtable and Meet the Money® provide some thoughtful reading.
If you do not know why now is the time to invest in a hotel, you will want to read these articles!
19 April 2011
The transaction market is heating up, and I am still getting calls and comments about my interview with Eric Stoessel in the National Real Estate Investor last month, where we discussed how the hotel transaction market is poised for a big turnaround.
I am also getting calls about Meet the Money®, the hotel finance conference that will take place in two weeks in Los Angeles. Registrants want to know: will debt and equity players be there? (The answer is, yes!)
But, first things first.
8 January 2011
Hotel Lawyer with advice for 2011: Hotel Investors, take note!
Like it or not, the stage is now set. This is the time. The year 2011 will present one of the greatest hotel buying opportunities for many years to come. And if you are not buying hotels this year, you will miss the window created by one of the biggest economic downturns in American history. What are the key indicators as to why this is a great time to by a hotel? And is price alone enough to justify the purchase, or are there other factors you need to think about? If the market is heading north, can you still make a bad purchase?
Hotel Lawyer Guy Maisnik, Vice Chairman of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group®, who was the lead attorney for the Receiver in the recent sale of the Sheraton Universal Hotel, answers these questions and more.
7 December 2010
It is always nice to be quoted in the New York Times, especially in a story that includes so many industry heavy hitters, as was the case in the article, After a Rough Night, Hotel Investors Are Waking Up. Reporter Janet Morrissey’s article provides a thought-provoking picture of the current unprecedented hotel investment landscape.