Irish hotel group to sell two US properties

IRISH HOTEL group Doyle Collection has decided to sell two of its properties in Washington DC in the United States.

The Irish Times has learned that the Doyle Collection has decided to put the Marriott Courtyard Hotel and the Normandy Hotel on the market though estate agents CBRE.

It plans to retain the 327-bed Dupont Circle Hotel in the US capital. This hotel was refurbished in recent years for $52 million (€39.7 million).

The decision to sell the hotels follows a strategic review of its 11-strong portfolio by the Doyle Collection. The group has decided to focus on large, wholly owned and operated luxury hotels in major cities.

It is understood that the group is keen to add another property to its portfolio in London, where it already has three hotels.

It currently owns and operates the Bloomsbury, the Kensington and the Marylebone hotels in London.

Selling the Washington DC properties would release funds that could be used for such an acquisition.

The Normandy and the Marriott were both acquired by the former Doyle hotel chain, before its merger with Jurys and subsequent rebranding by the current owners – members of the Doyle and Beatty families.

The Normandy was acquired in 1982, while the Marriott Courtyard followed in 1992. Both were last refurbished by the Irish hotelier in 2008.

The 75-bed Normandy has no restaurant, conference or leisure facilities.

The Marriott Courtyard, which has 147 bedrooms, is run under a long-term management contract with the international chain. It has had a $6.5 million facelift undertaken by the Doyle Collection.

It is understood that the Doyle Collection has no aspirations to add to its Irish portfolio. This comprises the five-star Westbury Hotel and the four-star Croke Park Hotel in Dublin, and the River Lee Hotel in Cork.

The group previously owned the Burlington, Jurys and Berkeley Court in Dublin, and the Jurys Inn chain of budget hotels.

The company, which is led by Pat King, also has a property in Bristol, England and owns the Back Bay Hotel in Boston.

Latest accounts for Doyle Hotels (Holdings) Ltd show that it made a pretax loss of €25 million in 2010, compared with a pretax loss of €75 million the previous year. This was due to large writedowns in the valuation of properties and steep depreciation costs.