Ray Washburne’s Firm Buys Dallas Hilton Hotel

Ray Washburne’s firm picked up a hotel in Dallas’ Design District with plans for a swanky rooftop bar.

Washburne’s Charter Holdings and hotel management company Liberty Hospitality bought the Tru by Hilton Dallas Market Center from Texas-based investment company Napali Capital.

The 152-key hotel at 1949 North Stemmons Freeway was built in 2020, a shaky time for hospitality, but its next act comes as more business travellers are seeking leisure offerings in Dallas. The buyers plan a renovation that will deliver Dallas’ largest open-air rooftop bar, which will also have a restaurant, according to a news release.

The bar would be run by Washburne’s restaurant group M-Crowd, which operates the Mi Cocina chain of Tex-Mex restaurants.

The details of the transaction were not disclosed — Liberty and Charter did not immediately respond to a request for more information, and county records have not yet documented the deed transfer.

The seller, Napali Capital, is a Roanoke, Texas-based investment company focused on getting physicians into commercial real estate. The firm bought the hotel in 2021, marking its second hotel acquisition, according to a news release. The hotel was an adaptive reuse of a 1965 bank building, developed by Magnolia Hospitality Group.

Napali was co-founded by two brothers, Tom and Tim Black, in 2016. The firm declined to comment.

Dallas’ hotel market is experiencing “significant growth” fueled by strong demand from business and leisure travelers as the city flourishes as a “major economic and cultural hub,” Dan Klingerman, president of the Liberty Group, said in the release.

Dallas hotels’ revenue per available room declined by 3.6 percent to $89 in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2023. But demand has made “considerable strides” due to a notable surge of groups travelling for conferences and conventions, according to Matthews Real Estate Investment Services.

Dallas was the fourth most-visited destination for business travel in the country from July through September, according to Corporate Traveler and FCM Travel. A trend of business travelers increasingly seeking “well-being” has emerged this year, with a third of millennial and Gen Z travelers adding leisure days to business trips, FCM said.

A resurgence of hotel investment could come with expected interest rate decreases and more stable lending, according to Matthews.