Chicago Investor Buys Discounted Hotel for $83K per key

Another full-service hotel has been scooped up by local technology executive Ketu Amin.

The 412-room Westin Chicago North Shore, at 601 North Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling, was acquired at the bargain price of $34 million, or $83,000 per key, Crain’s reported. The sale is a 34 percent discount from the $51 million it last sold for in 2013.

The purchase was financed with a $24.5 million loan from Chesterfield, Missouri-based Reinsurance Group of America. JLL’s Adam McGaughy and John Nugent brokered the sale. Amin owns 11 hotels in the Chicago and Minneapolis suburbs, which are managed by his firm Vinayaka Hospitality. He is also the president of the Schaumburg-based IT firm VinaKom

The discount underscores the broader challenges in the hotel real estate market, including high interest rates, reduced corporate travel and rising operational costs. Despite those challenges, Amin remains optimistic about the hotel’s future potential because of its location and past performance. It is near numerous corporate offices in Lake County, which has become a hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Built in 2006 with financial backing from the village of Wheeling, the Westin features 35,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a 15,000-square-foot ballroom. Amin plans to renovate the hotel, including updates to guest rooms and an overhaul of its banquet facilities.

Amin first entered the hotel industry in 2008 with the purchase of a Hampton Inn in Hoffman Estates. His portfolio now includes the DoubleTree Chicago and Chicago Marriott in Oak Brook, the Hyatt Regency and Sheraton in Lisle, and the Chicago Marriott Suites and Hilton Rosemont near O’Hare International Airport.

Hotel revenues in Chicago haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. Revenue per available room averaged $148 last year, which is a little lower than in 2019, but it lags far behind when accounting for inflation, according to CoStar.

— Andrew Terrell