Taj Boston for Sale

TheRifleman said:
Taj Boston hotel up for sale for $125M

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2016/05/taj-boston-hotel-up-for-sale-for-125m.html

I actually miss the presence of the Ritz Hotel in this location. This was so Boston very sad that it turned into the Taj Boston Hotel.

Not crazy about the inside décor either. It's very high end inside but it just does not seem like Boston.
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Interesting that they are planning to loose 45 million dollars on the hotel in just 10 years. Considering the current market they must have grossly overpaid for the place in 2006.
 
tysmith95 said:
Interesting that they are planning to loose 45 million dollars on the hotel in just 10 years. Considering the current market they must have grossly overpaid for the place in 2006.
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An enormous percentage of properties sold in 2006, in all sorts of property types, went at prices that looked later on like the buyers "grossly overpaid". There was a whole lot of that going around, it wasn't just in suburban tract housing financed with subprime mortgages.

And the $45M loss you mention is only the decline in asset value since they bought. Lower in the article it mentions that it's been posting annual operating losses on top of that.

Of course, with the miracle of depreciation rules and how one can use tax losses, the annual tax losses might have shielded enough income elsewhere in their portfolio to make the thing look like less of a fiscal dog from a corporate perspective. No way to tell from the outside looking in, and it presumes they've got lots of income in the rest of their portfolio that needs to be shielded. Even if this is somewhat the case, my hunch would be "make it look like less of a fiscal dog" does not equal "make it look OK", especially if those annual looses were reported accurately.
 
I just hope the next buyer changes the name back to the Ritz and possibly changes the decor back to sometype of Boston type style. I'm not sure what that would be but something not so HIGH END. The feel I get in the main room at the Taj is this is probably how Dubai is x1000.
 
Back when it was the Ritz, it had a very homey, comforting feel. One of my all time favorite experiences in Boston was a year or two before the sale. Friends were visiting and we were walking around in that area when there was a sudden downpour. We first huddled under the overhang, then decided to hit the bar for a drink. We ended up drinking solid single malt for the next few hours, just as happy as could be. Those same friends always remark on the experience as something special about Boston -- that we have such places and that you can randomly happen across them.
 
I think it's nice to have an elegant, not-typically-staid hotel. I really don't find it that over the top. Believe me, there are LOTs of OTT luxe properties in the world (not that I stay at any of them :)) and this ain't one.
 
^highest and best use will be a conversion to high end condos. $125M seems weirdly inexpensive considering how prime the location is...
 
It's already been ruined as a "Ritz" property. It makes sense to convert it to an extension of the condo building already next door and connected. I imagine it would be a very expensive conversion, though some of the larger suites, unless changed around, are almost ready. I was sad to see the old Ritz go...not so much because I could afford the dining room, but I did enjoy breakfasts on special days and feeling a part of history.
 
If it goes by the way of remaining a hotel, I would not be shocked to see St. Regis or Waldorf branding take Taj's place...with more emphasis on the latter considering Hilton is apparently trying to make a push for more of a presence in the Boston market (as evidenced with their bid for the Mandarin and proposal for the BCEC hotel) whereas Starwood will have a surplus of inventory after the Marriott merger (admittedly, nothing like a St. Regis).
 
Do you gentlemen think we're approaching over-supply on hotel capacity?
 
odurandina said:
Do you gentlemen think we're approaching over-supply on hotel capacity?
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Quite the opposite...I think we're going to begin to see a rise in hotel construction simply because the demand is there. It's often cheaper to get a room in NYC than it is here, and most reports I've read seem to have the attitude that the hotel industry here has had a good run essentially printing money.
 
Hopefully they'll do the right thing and convert this into affordable housing.
 
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