AUSTIN – (Realty News Report) – Host Hotels & Resorts has purchased the 448-room Hyatt Regency Austin, located in downtown Austin, for $161 million in cash.
The waterfront property sits on 5.8 acres along the south shore of Lady Bird Lake, adjacent to Congress Avenue and the popular bat bridge, home to a large colony of bats that draws many visitors.
Bethesda, Md.-based Host Hotels, the nation’s largest lodging real estate investment trust (REIT), said the hotel will continue to operate under the Hyatt flag.
“We are pleased to have completed an off-market, opportunistic acquisition of a high-quality hotel in one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities, a market that continues to benefit from corporate relocations and population growth. As travel rebounds, we expect the well-located Hyatt Regency Austin to capitalize on strong leisure and business demand driven by Austin’s renowned music festivals, sporting events and major employers,” said James F. Risoleo, president and CEO of Host Hotels.
In 2019, the Hyatt Regency Austin posted an occupancy rate of 85.7 percent and an average daily rate of $220. Like the rest of the industry, the hotel faced severe challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many Austin hotels temporarily closed during the pandemic. In April 2020, RevPAR (revenue per available room) in downtown Austin plunged to $3.62, a dramatic decline from average nightly revenue above $260 in 2019, according to STR. The hospitality sector nationwide experienced substantial disruption during that period.
The 670,000-square-foot Hyatt Regency Austin underwent a guest-room renovation in 2015 and expanded and updated meeting facilities in 2015 and 2018. The 16-story hotel offers approximately 45,000 square feet of meeting space, including ballrooms of about 14,000 and 10,000 square feet, two food-and-beverage outlets, an outdoor pool, and a fitness center.
Expanded meeting facilities helped the hotel capture more group business; notably, the property hosted the National Association of Real Estate Editors annual conference in 2019.
Before the pandemic, Austin was the strongest hotel market in Texas. Signs of recovery may be emerging for Austin hoteliers, and a slowdown in new hotel construction is expected to help balance supply and demand in the market.
March 19, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
Caption: Recreational boats cruise near the Hyatt Regency Austin, which sits on the banks of the Colorado River. Photo by Ralph Bivins, Realty News Report Copyright 2021.