The president of Prince Resorts Hawaii said he has not heard whether the company's four hotels are up for sale. Hawaii Prince exec
unaware of sales talkSeibu Railways Co.
reportedly is shopping
the four isle resortsBy Lyn Danninger
ldanninger@starbulletin.comA national real estate newsletter reported yesterday that Seibu Railways Co. was selling the four Hawaii resorts.
"If they have (advertised) that's completely news to me," said George Ariyoshi, former Hawaii governor and president of Prince Resorts Hawaii, noting that his role with the company is operations, not real estate.
The newsletter Real Estate Finance and Investment reported that Seibu Railways is quietly shopping the chain, asking about $200 million each or about $800 million for the four hotels.
The Japanese company would consider selling the hotels individually or as a package, the newsletter said, citing "market players who have spoken with Seibu officials."
The properties, with a total of 1,492 rooms, consist of the Big Island's Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki and Maui Prince Hotel.
Ariyoshi said inquiries come from time to time but as far as he is concerned, the hotels are not up for sale. He said, however, that the market decides what is for sale and what is not.
A sale would extend a string of Hawaiian hotel transactions as a slumping Japanese economy leads many companies to sell U.S. real estate assets as a way to raise cash.
In January, Blackstone Group Inc. bought the Hyatt Regency Maui for about $200 million from Koksai Jidosha, a Japanese taxi and limousine company.
And in December Marriott International Inc. bought the Ritz Carlton Kapalua hotel on Maui for $143 million from Nissho Iwai Corp., a Japanese trading company.
Hotel consultant Joe Toy, president and CEO of Hospitality Advisors LLC, said there will always be a buyer for so-called "trophy assets" such as the Prince Hotels.
But Toy notes that the peak of the market, which has taken place over the last 12 months, is starting to level off.
"One of the problems of the market is that we are currently in a capital crunch," he said. "Given the shrinkage in the hotel investment capital market, it will be interesting to see whether they can get that kind of pricing."
Prince Hotels in Hawaii recently signed a three-year booking and marketing services contract with The Utell division of Pegasus Solutions Inc. The Dallas-based company is the world's largest third-party hotel industry marketing and reservations provider.
Prince Hotels is Japan's largest hotel chain with 82 hotels worldwide.
Bloomberg News
contributed to this report