Dive Brief:
- Hotel investment, management and development company Equinox Hospitality acquired the Four Points by Sheraton San Rafael in Northern California for $38 million, the company announced Thursday.
- The deal marks Equinox’s fifth addition to its hotel portfolio within the past year, and its first in affluent Marin County, situated between San Francisco and wine country.
- Equinox plans to renovate and rebrand the property by aligning it with the Tribute by Marriott brand, Marriott’s collection of design-forward independent boutique hotels. It’s also seeking further opportunities to expand its portfolio in California and Texas markets.
Dive Insight:
Adam Suleman, principal at Equinox Hospitality, said the company is “on a determined expansion path.”
Four Points by Sheraton San Rafael is part of that path. Renovations to the hotel will begin next year, and Equinox said it will strategically renovate and rebrand the space to appeal to visitors from the surrounding county and neighboring regions such as Napa, Sonoma and San Francisco.
“Marin County is an affluent market that presents a strong demand for a hotel of this nature due to its supply constraints. The property’s strategic location — being at the heart of key sites in Marin, in proximity to San Francisco and Wine Country, and next door to a billion-dollar retail and development zone — lends itself to a wealth of opportunities,” said Adam Suleman, principal at Equinox Hospitality.
The Four Points by Sheraton San Rafael currently boasts the largest outdoor hotel pool in Marin County as well as 6,840 square feet of event space spanning a ballroom and meeting rooms. It is close to scenic spots such as Mount Tamalpais, Muir Woods and Stinson Beach. The property also includes “generous” restaurant and bar space, according to the announcement. Suleman noted that the Tribute by Marriott brand will give the property “great flexibility when it comes to local design, F&B, and making the hotel feel part of the community.”
Equinox has executed more than $100 million in hotel deal volume within the past year, Suleman said, and the company is “keen on solidifying our presence in existing markets and exploring new promising ones.”
Equinox maintains an “an optimistic view on San Francisco's rebound,” and aims to expand further across the Bay Area, Suleman added. “We remain confident about unearthing valuable opportunities, especially in California and Texas, even amid some uncertainties.”
Those uncertainties may be a nod to downtown San Francisco, which is suffering a slower recovery than most cities. In June, Park Hotels & Resorts ceased making payments on a loan it secured for the Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55 San Francisco, in the heart of the city’s downtown.
But Equinox isn’t the only hospitality management firm snapping up Northern California properties. Last month, Pyramid Global Hospitality added The Sandman Hotel in Santa Rosa and Hotel Paradox — Autograph Collection in Santa Cruz to its portfolio.
Suleman said Equinox’s partnerships with major hotel brands continue to boost the company’s growth. One of those is Sonesta — last year, the company acquired four Sonesta hotels in Texas, Hotel Business reported.
Equinox is far from the only hospitality company to see value in the Texas market. Fort Worth, Texas, is in the midst of a commercial real estate boom. And Florida-based commercial real estate firm Driftwood Capital has acquired three properties in the Dallas-Fort Worth market over the past few years. Elsewhere in Texas, San Antonio is a growing market for hotels, and Hyatt Regency opened two Houston-area hotels in May.
