Investors have taken an interest in Fort Lauderdale’s hotel market, with $450 million in hotel transactions expected to close in the next year, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group.
While the Miami hotel market has experienced record-breaking transaction volumes annually since the downturn, there are very few acquisition opportunities and many investors are likely to use hold strategies to maximize asset value. In the last 24 months, Gregory Rumple, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group, and his Miami team have closed approximately $900 million in acquisition and finance transactions, $722 million of which have been in Florida.

“Fort Lauderdale is becoming a premier location for leisure travelers and investors alike. The market, once positioned to capture Miami’s infinite tourism overflow due to its location just 30 minutes north, has become a key destination itself. Thirteen-million tourists are expected to visit this year,” says Rumpel. “Increased visitor demand coupled with upscale hotel product is attracting investors who are looking to deploy capital into the South Florida hotel market. Available product in Miami is rising in price these days, so Fort Lauderdale becomes the natural choice for investment.”
As of August, occupancy in Fort Lauderdale has increased 47 consecutive months and RevPAR and ADR are on the upswing. These key lodging fundamentals are being driven by strong citywide marketing initiatives and leisure demand. The city also witnessed a 21 percent increase in RevPAR from 2010 to 2012 and is up eight percent through year-to-date in August.
To accommodate the increased demand, the city of Fort Lauderdale has outlined an extensive expansion plan with nearly $6.5 billion allocated toward the development of infrastructure projects, including $1.2 billion apportioned to the Fort Lauderdale International Airport and $2 billion for Port Everglades.
