Dive Brief:

• The 198-room Comfort Suites Maingate East hotel in Kissimmee, Florida — just south of Orlando — sold for $22 million on March 30. 
• The property generated 175 signed confidentiality agreements from qualified buyers and received 16 offers from various U.S. and international buyers, according to Dennis Hopper of DSH Hotel Advisors, which brokered the sale. 
• The Comfort Suites sale comes roughly three months after the World Travel & Tourism Council predicted Orlando to close out 2022 as the largest U.S. travel and tourism city destination, with an economic contribution of over $31 billion. 

Dive Insight:

As Orlando and surrounding cities like Tampa, Florida, see an increase in tourism, investors are taking note and scooping up highly demanded hospitality real estate like Comfort Suites Maingate East. 

According to data collected by Hotel Valuation Index, travel and visitation to the Orlando market is increasing after it “slowed significantly” at the onset of the pandemic. HVI found that the 2022 RevPAR for the Orlando market surpassed the 2018 peak by more than 12%, and occupancy approached the level achieved in 2019. One driver of this economic growth is the construction of Universal Studios’ newest theme park, Epic Universe, HVI noted. 

Additionally, HVI found that lifting COVID-19 testing requirements for international travelers likely supported the recovery. WTTC’s Cities Economic Impact 2022 report found Orlando — the only U.S. city named — to be one of the most recovered cities for international travel, surpassing 2019 spending by almost 20% in 2022. 

According to Melvin Chu, executive vice president for JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group, Orlando and Tampa are two of the top 25 U.S. markets showing positive growth in the hotel sector to start 2023. 

In addition to recent investment deals, hotel developments in the area include the 156-room Hyatt House Orlando Airport and the planned 400-unit W Hotel by Marriott, to be built near the new Epic Universe theme park. 

To the south of Orlando, Miami is another market experiencing positive growth fundamentals, with Chu noting the city’s year-end 2022 RevPAR exceeded 2019 performance by 24%. 

Earlier this year, the Miami area saw the third largest single-asset hotel sale ever in the U.S. — the $835 million sale of the 1,000-room Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood. Hotel Colonnade Coral Gables, an Autograph Collection property, also recently sold for $63 million.