As tourism sets records in Pinellas, hotel acquisitions continue to rise
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 27, 2022

Several Pinellas County hotels are under new management following a series of hospitality acquisitions this month.

Both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties have accrued record-breaking taxable hotel revenue this year, and Steve Hayes, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater President and CEO, told the Business Journal this year they had a “more dedicated message around arts and culture, just because we have such great assets [and] there's an audience out there that will travel for it."

Visit St. Pete/Clearwater reported $13 million in tourist development tax in March from a total hotel revenue of $156 million, which set a record. In February, that number was $9.4 million, and in January it was $7.3 million.

The spotlight has inarguably returned to tourism in Tampa Bay, which briefly dipped during the initial wave of the pandemic. Investors are mimicking that mindset, and hotel acquisitions continue to be a priority for both local and out-of-state parties.

On May 12, the 75-room Howard Johnson by Wyndham Clearwater was sold for $5.5 million, which breaks down to a sale price of approximately $73,333 per key. A deed filed in Pinellas County shows the property was purchased by AANRYA Clearwater LLC. The hotel is approximately 29,803 square feet and lies around 5 miles from Ruth Eckerd Hall, 10 miles from Clearwater Beach and 10 miles from the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks. The hotel last sold in 2004 for $2.75 million, according to the property appraiser.

A Pennsylvania-based investor purchased the Magnuson Hotel Marina Cove on May 9 — along with its neighboring properties — in a $17.3 million deal. The purchase includes the hotel, its shuffleboard and tennis courts, two adjacent vacant commercial properties and the connected boat docks, according to deeds filed in Pinellas County. The Magnuson has 144 rooms and 11 townhouses and was built in 1982.

The hotel is in St. Petersburg and faces the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. It also has a private beach, two pools, a fitness center, lounge, playground, conference facilities and meeting and event space.

Eagle Property Capital Investments LLC bought — in a joint venture partnership with Promecap — two Pinellas County hotels and plans to transform the combined properties into a 183-unit apartment community. The 95-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott St. Petersburg Clearwater and the 88-room Residence Inn by Marriott St. Petersburg Clearwater will be consolidated, repositioned and rebranded as “Pelican Lake Apartments,” according to a news release.

The properties will have a mix of 183 studio, one-and-two-bedroom apartments that will range from 500 to 850 square feet. Miami-based GLT Group Brokerage arranged the sale of the two hotels in combined off-market transaction for $20.50 million. Sean Shahar Ziv of GLT Group Brokerage represented both sellers and procured the buyer.