Florida company buys Aston Waikiki

Florida-based Inland American Lodging Group Inc. announced Monday that it has purchased the 645-room Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel for about $183 million.

Marcel Verbaas, president and CEO of Inland American Lodging Advisor Inc., said the 23-story hotel would provide the company with an opportunity to achieve high occupancy levels and premium revenue growth per room.

"Waikiki comprises the most vibrant lodging market not only on Oahu, but throughout all of the Hawaiian Islands, and Oahu continues to be one of the top performing hotel markets in the nation," Verbaas said in a statement.

The deal continues the blistering pace of hotel deals seen in 2013, said Joe Toy, president and CEO of hotel consultancy Hospitality Advisors LLC.

"This transaction started well before the year ended. It’s part of the huge acceleration of transactions that we saw in 2013 and have continued to see this year," Toy said.

Toy said the property, which has changed hands several times in the past decade, finally appears to be reaping the benefits of the $30 million or so in renovations that it completed around 2002. The comprehensive renovations followed its acquisition by New York-based Leucadia, which acquired the note in 2001 from Japa­nese lender Mi­tsui Trust & Banking Co., which had lent previous owner Otaka Inc. about $85 million during the 1980s Japa­nese investment bubble. Gaylord Entertainment Co. paid $107 million to acquire the hotel and its mauka tower in 2005, and the property changed hands at least once more before this latest sale. The mauka tower, which was converted into the 72-room Hotel Renew during a previous sale, was not included in this transaction.

"The property is in a great location," Toy said. "There’s also been a lot of investor interest in Waikiki, which shows the kind of long-term promise that people that buy and acquire are seeking."

Situated along Kala­kaua Avenue, the Aston Waikiki Beach offers 3,300 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, including the 1,288-square-foot Coconut Club, which features panoramic ocean views from a 1,292-square-foot terrace.

The deal also included a heated outdoor swimming pool, sun deck and 19,400 square feet of retail space, which is 100 percent leased by restaurants and retailers including Tiki’s Bar & Grill and Wolfgang Puck’s Express.

The hotel will continue to be managed by Aston Hotels & Resorts.

"We expect no changes as far as guests and employees are concerned and are looking forward to working with Inland American Lodging Group," said Kelvin Bloom, president of Vacation Holdings Hawaii, which is the parent of Aston Hotels & Resorts and a subsidiary of Miami-based Interval Leisure Group.

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