Person to Watch Paul Sanford
Our man to monitor—local honcho for Hong Kong-based Wincome Group—kept a low profile but piloted prominent projects to approvals. Among them:
n Anaheim Plaza & Suites near Disneyland Resort is to be replaced with a $208-million, 580-room hotel.
n Anabella Hotel near Anaheim Convention Center will exit the stage for a $225 million, 630-room hotel.
n Avenue of the Arts in Costa Mesa has gotten approval to add a 15-story, 150-room tower next to the existing 238-room hotel near Segerstrom Center for the Arts and South Coast Plaza.
The three are expected to gain or maintain “four-diamond quality” amenities and service, and together the hotels comprise a commitment of some $500 million in acquisition and development dollars.
Two possible hurdles: the flow of money from China could decline if its government restricts cash outlays, and Anaheim citizens will vote in 2018 on a referendum related to the projects there; Sanford got the city’s OK but hasn’t sledgehammered the two existing hotels to begin the new projects … yet.
Company to Watch Marriott Hotels International
The Bethesda, Md.-based hotel operator in September closed its $13 billion buy of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in Stamford, Conn.—after an abandoned $14 billion bid in April by China-based Anbang Insurance Group Co.
Big buys … international intrigue … it was, indeed, one to watch.
Marriott has said it will keep its 30 global brands at 5,700 properties with 1.1 million rooms in 110 countries—a roster that includes 110 hotels in OC under multiple flags.
An expectation that Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel and St. Regis Monarch Beach, both in Dana Point, would end up under one umbrella—Ritz is Marriott’s brand; St. Regis, Starwood’s—took a different turn when Monarch Beach Resort went indie on June 1.
And don’t forget about Anbang. The insurer didn’t buy the Ritz’ operator, but it bought the Ritz—and Montage Laguna Beach—as part of a $6.5 billion hotel portfolio deal in September from Blackstone Group LP.
— Paul Hughes
