Schroders, TPG put Harbourfront hotel up for sale at S$320 million

The 10-storey property also has 19 carpark lots, a rooftop bar and a basement

May 23, 2024

TRAVELODGE Harbourfront Singapore, a three-star hotel property at Telok Blangah, is being offered for sale with a guide price of S$320 million.

The 10-storey hotel on freehold land is on the market at a price of about S$950,000 per key for its 336 rooms. The property also has 19 carpark lots, a rooftop bar and a basement.

The hotel sits on a land parcel spanning 22,762.60 square feet (sq ft) with a total gross floor area of almost 80,000 sq ft.

Private equity companies Schroders and TPG Angelo Gordon, together with Datapulse Investment, bought the property then known as Bay Hotel Singapore in 2019 for S$235 million. Datapulse has since sold its 5 per cent stake in the property to the other two owners for an undisclosed sum.

The Bay Hotel was subsequently rebranded to Travelodge Harbourfront and is now managed by Travelodge Hotels (Asia), which is owned by SGX-listed ICP.

ICP had acquired the rights to the Travelodge hotel brand name in 22 Asia-Pacific territories and countries, excluding Australia and New Zealand, for A$3 million (S$2.7 million) in 2014.

Marketing agent JLL said the property can be sold with vacant possession or with a new management contract under the Travelodge brand.

The hotel faces popular mall VivoCity and Harbourfront MRT station, and is near Sentosa. It is also close to the future Greater Southern Waterfront precinct, where new housing, office space and fresh recreational facilities are planned.

Julien Naouri, JLL hotels and hospitality group’s senior vice-president for investment sales, said: “The property offers additional cash flow upside through exploring a rebranding of the hotel and various asset management initiatives.”

The marketing of the Travelodge Harbourfront follows several other boutique hotel assets put up for sale recently. Earlier this month, Sandpiper Hotel in Little India was put on the market for S$33 million or S$1.06 million per key. And last month, private equity firm Lucrum Capital put a freehold hotel on Killiney Road up for sale at S$195 million, or S$1.7 million per room.

In January, Gaw Capital Partners sold Hotel G Singapore to CapitaLand Wellness Fund for about S$235 million. The 308-room budget hotel will be upgraded and rebranded to lyf Bugis Singapore in mid-2024 under Ascott’s co-living brand, lyf.

In July last year, UOL’s subsidiary, the Pan Pacific Hotels Group, sold its Parkroyal Kitchener Hotel for S$525 million to Worldwide Hotels, the owner of the Hotel 81 chain in Singapore. The deal was said to be the biggest single-asset hotel transaction in Singapore and the second-largest in Asia-Pacific in 2023.

Latest figures in March showed that hotels’ average room rate (ARR) climbed to S$301.49, up 1.3 per cent from the preceding month. On a yearly basis, the ARR was up 14.3 per cent, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

Other indicators – overall hotel room revenue, revenue per available room and average occupancy rate – also grew in March, said STB.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/pro...e-s320-million