Blackstone Group to pick up hotels for $800M

The New York-based asset firm Blackstone Group is nearing a deal to buy a group of 47 U.S. hotels for about $800 million.

The deal includes 47 extended-stay Residence Inn and Homewood Suites hotels, most of which are located in the top 25 markets in the U.S., a source familiar with the deal told Bloomberg.

Blackstone’s purchase is the latest in a recent string of select-service hotel buys for the firm. An affiliate of the company bought 16 hotels including Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels from Hersha Hospitality Trust for $217 million, and a $1.3 billion deal for hotel owner Apple REIT Six was completed in May. That purchase followed Blackstone’s 2012 purchase of the Motel 6 and Studio 6 chains for $1.9 billion.

Blackstone did not immediately return calls from Bloomberg seeking comment. [Bloomberg] — Julie Strickland