American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP (AHIP) has begun the approximately $44 million acquisition of a portfolio of five railway lodging facilities owned by AHIP subsidiaries.
The five hotels contain more than 586 guestrooms including a 160-room hotel in Belen, New Mexico; a 156-room hotel in Gillette, Wyoming; a 118-room hotel in Ravenna, Nebraska; a 96-room hotel in Guernsey, Wyoming; and a 56-room hotel in Edgemont, South Dakota.
Once the transaction closes, the company will own more than 78 properties that include 43 rail hotels.
“This transaction will enable AHIP to unlock the embedded value of the five hotel properties through value add programs and management efficiencies,” says Rob O’Neill, CEO of AHIP. “The properties are secured by railway contracts that we expect will create significant incremental value for AHIP and its unitholders. There are few strategic hotel operators focused on U.S. railway lodging, and we are very pleased to be acquiring all of the lodging properties owned by a competitor that has been accommodating railway crews since 1973. Upon completion of this transaction, AHIP will have more than doubled its locations with a key railway client and will be its sole dedicated crew lodging provider.”
AHIP is also negotiating with the same client to acquire two additional U.S. property conversions in Mississippi and Kansas.
TR Lodging Enterprises, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tower Rock Hotels & Resorts, is expected to manage the railway portfolio.
