El Segundo investor Welcome Group buys LAX hotel for $49M

Hyatt Place LAX sale marks fifth transaction near airport in the last 18 months

Washington Holdings' Craig Wrench, Welcome Group' Amar Shokeen and the hotel at 750 North Nash Street (LinkedIn, Welcome Group, JLL)
Washington Holdings' Craig Wrench, Welcome Group's Amar Shokeen and the hotel at 750 North Nash Street (LinkedIn, Welcome Group, JLL)

The LAX-area hotel corridor is in full flight.

Washington Holdings sold the 143-key Hyatt Place El Segundo hotel near LAX to El Segundo-based Welcome Group for $49 million, according to a Tuesday announcement from JLL, which brokered the deal on behalf of the seller.

The deal came out to about $342,700 per room.

Welcome Group scored a $31.9 million loan from Commercial Bank of California for its purchase, according to loan documents filed with L.A. County earlier this month.

In 2019, the Seattle-based developer and investment firm, Washington Holdings, bought the hotel from Blackstone for $44.5 million, records show, an indication that the value of LAX hotels has appreciated only slightly since then, despite the pandemic.

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Washington Holdings renovated the hotel at 750 North Nash Street in 2020, according to JLL.

Since June of last year, at least four other hotels near LAX have traded hands, as passenger traffic at the airport has increased dramatically.

In August, about 6 million passengers traveled through LAX — up about 19 percent from last August, according to data from the Los Angeles World Airports authority. Most of that increase can be attributed to a roughly 87 percent year-over-year increase in international travelers.

Last year, the Southwest Carpenters Trust Fund bought the 508-key Hyatt Regency at LAX for $75 million, while in November, Lone Star Funds bought the Westin LAX for $71 million.

Just this month, NewcrestImage bought the La Quinta Inn & Suites near LAX for $44 million, while Park Hotels & Resorts struck a deal to sell the 162-key Hilton Garden Inn LAX to DiNapoli Capital.