The president of Orange County hotel broker Atlas Hospitality Group has some good news for San Diego’s all-important hospitality sector.
He says that sales of hotels in San Diego were up nearly 28%, according to his Atlas annual 2023 Year-End California Hotel Sales Survey.
“San Diego County stands out in our 2023 survey as it saw the highest increase in the median price per room of any of the counties in the state- up 27.5,” Alan Reay told the Times of San Diego.
“This shows how desirable hotels in the region are to investors as many view the market as having a much more diverse economic base than most of the other markets in the state, that is not heavily relying on any one industry, such as tech ( see what has happened in San Francisco and San Jose, for example).”
“We see the demand for San Diego hotels continuing for all product types and locations,” he said. “It’s hard to see weakness in the local market and with all of the negative publicity we are seeing in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland (crime and homeless),
“This will only drive more meetings/convention business to San Diego” he concluded.
San Diego had a near 24% decrease in individual hotel transactions, to 26 from 34 in 2022.
Total dollar volume was down 42%.
The county’s average price per room increased by 8%, but the median price per room increased by 27.5%.
He cited a couple of sales in his report.
The 225-room Four Points San Diego on Aero Drive was the largest hotel sold at $13 million.
The 85-room Inn at Rancho Santa Fe was the highest price paid at $100 million.
Overall, hotel sales statewide weren’t all that strong, he said.
Some of the highlights of this year’s survey as far as the California market is concerned:
- Second largest percentage decline in individual sales in the last 15 years, down 45% over 2022;
- Sales volume declined by 56%, the second steepest decline in sales volume in the last fifteen years.
- Median price per room at $150,000, down more than 1% over 2022.
- The highest price sale was the $720 Million paid at foreclosure by the lender for the 400-room Fairmont Hotel in Los Angeles.
Hotel sales are one indication of the overall health of the local economy, says Reay.
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Orlando-based Park operator SeaWorld is marking its 60th anniversary this year with a year-long celebration at all its parks, including the theme park in San Diego, featuring new attractions. According to a news release, the festivities kick off on Thursday, March 21, with a party spanning the weekend, and will continue throughout the summer with special events and experiences.
Head over to the SeaWorld San Diego’s website to find out more.
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San Diego-based biotech startup Revelation Biosciences said on Feb. 5 it successfully floated a public offering, raising $6.2 million to pursue development of various treatments in its pipeline.
The company is focused on harnessing the power of trained immunity for the prevention and treatment of disease using a proprietary formulation, according to a news release
The company has multiple ongoing programs to evaluate the treatment, including the possible prevention of hospital-acquired infections, prevention of acute kidney injury, and the treatment of chronic kidney disease.
Revelation said it floated 128,470 shares of common stock and 1.2 million warrants to purchase common stock.
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The Jewish Community Foundation San Diego has tabbed Jeremy Pearl to succeed Beth Sirull as its next president and chief executive officer.
According to a media announcement. Pearl was selected after a rigorous evaluation process overseen by an independent consultant.
Pearl has served as the foundation’s Chief Financial Officer since 2005.
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Las Americas Premium Outlets says it will have the first Pandora outlet to open in late February here in San Diego. The Danish-based retailer designs and manufactures hand-finished and contemporary jewelry.
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San Diego privately held storage services provider Big Box Storage has been acquired by Glass Lake Holdings, which invests in founder-owned businesses, according to a news release.
Glass Lake is an investment company with offices in Virginia and Texas. Details of the transaction were handled by Colorado-based investment bank SDR Ventures.
The 21-year-old Big Box Storage says it is a leading provider of storage services in San Diego County.
Founded by Brian and Rita Hurley, the company says it has scaled to the point over the past 20 years where it has more customers than any other San Diego-based storage company.
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A Houston-based subsidiary of San Diego’s Sempra Energy says will enter a “strategic collaboration” with the Bank for International Cooperation to help strengthen the energy supply chain through various initiatives, including liquefied natural gas.
Sempra Infrastructure says it has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding to help Sempra Infrastructure and its Japanese customers reach various objectives aligned with decarbonization efforts of both countries.
Sempra Infrastructure is a unit of Sempra Energy.
According to a news release, the Sempra family of companies has partnered in numerous ways with Japanese companies over the past 50 years.
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San Diego financial institution North Island Credit Union says it has opened a retail branch in Escondido, bringing its banking services closer to its members in North County.
The branch, located at 1230 Auto Park Way in the Escondido Promenade Shopping Center, marks the credit union’s 11th branch in the greater San Diego area, according to a news release.
North Island Credit Union is a division of California Credit Union, a federally insured, state-chartered credit union founded in 1933 with assets over $4.5 billion, 200,000 members and 24 retail branches.
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Finally, this item of note for those suffering from balding.
San Diego cell therapy researcher Stemson Therapeutics says it has achieved “a groundbreaking technological leap forward” in the hunt for an effective treatment for hair loss,
According to a news release, Stemson says it is advancing its iPSC-derived autologous cell therapy for hair follicle regeneration by engineering follicular units in humanized mice.
The company says this innovation marks a significant stride in addressing hair loss indications like androgenetic alopecia and scarring alopecia.
Stemson CEO Geoff Hamilton emphasizes the urgent need for such breakthroughs, highlighting the emotional distress associated with hair loss among millions in the U.S.
Stempson Therapeutics says it is a pre-clinical stage cell therapy company “with a mission to cure hair loss by leveraging the regenerative power of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.
Stemson uses iPSC to regenerate the critical cells required to grow hair which are damaged or depleted in patients suffering from hair loss.
As much as 20% of the human population suffers from hair loss, the company says at its website.
Tom York is a Carlsbad-based independent journalist who specializes in writing about business and the economy. If you have news tips you’d like to share, send them to tom.york@gmail.com.
