During Hilton's Q3 earnings call last week, President and CEO Christopher Nassetta mentioned that the company was set to open a 1,000-room conversion property in the northeast. That hotel, it turns out, is the 1,060-room Boston Park Plaza, which Sunstone Hotel Investors has sold to Parks Hospitality Holdings for a gross sale price of $370 million, or approximately $350,000 per key. The property will rebrand as the Hilton Boston Park Plaza as part of a post-acquisition rebranding initiative.
History and Heritage
Originally conceived by hotelier E.M. Statler as a "city within a city," the property originally opened in 1927 as The Statler Hotel and in 1954, Conrad Hilton purchased the property as part of The Statler Hotel chain before renaming the hotel the Statler Hilton in 1957. In 1976, a local family purchased the hotel, renaming it Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers.
“Nearly 70 years since Hilton first arrived in Boston, we’re thrilled to welcome back visitors to this iconic hotel. As we continue to grow Hilton Hotels & Resorts to more than 600 hotels welcoming guests globally, we are excited to add Hilton Boston Park Plaza to the brand’s portfolio,” Leonard Gooz, brand leader, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, said in a statement. “We look forward to honoring the hotel’s legacy and serving as a destination for the next generation of travelers, galas and events for years to come.”
Sunstone Hotel Investors acquired the hotel in 2013 and executed a business plan to reinvigorate the property. Over the course of the company's ownership period, the hotel's annual earnings nearly doubled and the hotel generated cumulative hotel adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of approximately $210 million.
"Acquiring the celebrated Boston Park Plaza is a significant milestone for Parks Hospitality Holdings," PHH CEO Charles El-Mann Fasja said. "This addition to our irreplaceable hotel real estate portfolio marks a new era of expansion for PHH, bringing our expertise in hospitality development and investment from Mexico to locations across the U.S. We're honored to continue expanding our partnership with Hilton with this iconic project and have future plans to scale our presence across other key U.S. cities."
This has been a successful allocation of capital for Sunstone, Sunstone CEO Bryan Giglia said. "The sale is consistent with our strategy to actively harvest value and recycle proceeds into new opportunities that will provide superior risk-adjusted returns," Giglia continued. "Our completed investment in Boston Park Plaza further demonstrates our ability to create value from repositioning and to realize that value through the disposition and ultimately, the redeployment of those proceeds. Boston remains a dynamic and attractive lodging market and we will continue to benefit from exposure to the city through our ownership of the Marriott Boston Long Wharf. Consistent with our strategy to actively recycle capital based on our investment lifecycle approach, we are currently evaluating opportunities to reinvest the sales proceeds into assets that will provide our investors with higher growth, superior returns, and greater per-share NAV growth."
Hilton Boston Park Plaza
The hotel has contemporary and pet-friendly guestrooms and suites, two restaurants and 70,000 square feet of meetings and event space. Guestrooms have New England-inspired artwork and stone-topped cabinetry. Most rooms include a dedicated workspace, interactive smart TVs with streaming capabilities, bedside USB charging ports, blackout shades, a refrigerator and a Keurig coffee and tea machine. The 1,160-square-foot Presidential Suite has a full bar and deep soaking tub and the 1,400 square foot Garden Suite has a pantry kitchen and private terrace overlooking the city.
Public spaces at the hotel include Boston’s first Topgolf Swing Suite, which includes PGA-certified lessons, full virtual golf courses and a virtual driving range available for private events. The Lynx Fitness Club is a 20,000-square-foot health club with equipment, trainers and a variety of yoga, boxing, HIIT classes and more.
The 70,000 square feet of event space includes the 13,215 square foot Grand Ballroom which has floor-to-ceiling windows, original Baccarat Crystal chandeliers and ornate balconies. For a non-traditional venue, Avenue 34 and The Square have an industrial chic design, including city-inspired artwork and exposed beams. Planners can choose from 35 meeting rooms and three ballrooms that can host up to 2,000 guests.
The hotel also has the only Leica Store and Gallery in New England with rotating exhibits. The property also has a full-service FedEx Business Center.
The rebranded hotel is four miles from Boston Logan Airport and one block from Boston Common.
This story originally appeared on www.hotelmanagement.net.
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