Hamburg-based Union Investment has acquired new operators for its hotels in New York City and Portland, both of which are held by UniImmo: Global. Motel One, Munich, has signed a 20-year lease for the hotel in New York City. In Portland, Oxford Capital Group, Chicago, will take over as tenant and manager of The Porter hotel. The Porter will continue to be affiliated with the Curio Collection by Hilton. The hotel in New York City has already been handed over to Motel One, and the hotel in Portland is also due to be handed over in July.
Motel One’s lease with Union Investment in New York City marks the chain’s entry into the U.S. market. The German hotel group was scheduled to take over the hotel on July 21. The property is located in downtown Manhattan, close to the World Trade Center complex, and has been operated under the Courtyard by Marriott brand since 2016. Motel One will carry out extensive refurbishment and rebranding. The agreement with the previous operator was terminated prematurely by Union Investment. Motel One already operates lifestyle budget hotels in eight properties held by Union Investment across four funds.
“The follow-on leases were agreed quickly, underlining just how attractive these two properties and their locations are,” said Martin Schaller, head of Asset Management Hospitality at Union Investment. The previous operators of the two hotels came under pressure as the pandemic unfolded and were no longer able to meet their lease obligations. The operator of The Porter had to pull out of the hotel for financial reasons.
“The toughest part of the journey is now behind us,” Schaller added. “The U.S. hotel market is already staging a comeback and hoteliers are anticipating a surge in demand. With Motel One and Oxford as operators, our hotels in New York City and Portland are extremely well positioned to benefit from the expected turnaround.”
Union Investment was advised by DLA Piper (Chicago and Washington, D.C.), Hogan Lovells (Munich) and by Mayer Brown (Chicago).