Downtown San Jose historic resort is acquired by veteran lodging corporation

SAN JOSE — A major historic hotel in downtown San Jose has been bought by a veteran hospitality corporation in a offer that produced a uncommon event: The resort bought at a decline compared to its selling price significantly less than 5 years ago.

The Westin San Jose, previously recognised as the Sainte Claire Hotel, has been purchased by an affiliate headed up by Khanna Enterprises, paperwork filed on Jan. 20 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office demonstrate.

Irvine-dependent Khanna Enterprises paid out $44.9 million for the hotel construction and the land beneath it, in accordance to the county residence documents.

It appears South Korea-dependent Aju Inns and Resorts, the seller of the Westin San Jose, endured a decline in benefit for the hotel through the years Aju owned the residence.

In 2017, Aju Lodges and Resorts paid out $64 million for the resort. 2017 was a single of the decades when resorts in the Bay Space and elsewhere have been taking pleasure in peak values and had been crowded with visitors.

But just a number of years afterwards, in 2020, the coronavirus shattered the travel and hospitality industries.

The hotel’s real estate price in 2022, as calculated by the latest offer, in contrast with the genuine estate benefit in 2017 invest in, slid 29.8% in the course of all those a long time.

Aju Resorts, even so, says it was paid out $62.3 million by the purchaser in the offer.

A consultant for Aju presented this information business with a invest in doc that showed the in general deal price for the lodge — which includes the rate of the land, the creating, the home furniture, and intangible values for property in the lodge — remaining the all round cost at the $62.3 million mark.

That would mean the over-all worth of the hotel in 2022 was 2.7% significantly less than the general benefit in 2017.

Even with this transform of situations, Alan Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality Group, which tracks the California lodging market place, believes the Westin San Jose is a best-notch lodging.

“This is a beautiful resort, a great, historic assets,” Reay said. “It’s bought a terrific locale.”

Yet, it’s distinct that the arrival of the coronavirus appears to have undermined the hotel’s benefit.

“This demonstrates the decrease in value for accommodations that are in markets that depend on business enterprise journey and conventions,” Reay explained.

In contrast, motels in well known marketplaces these types of as the coastal areas of Monterey County and San Diego County, along with the Northern California Wine Country, are viewing file will increase in their charges.

“Drive-to markets, destination marketplaces, are viewing incredible values,” Reay stated.

The 171-home Westin San Jose is located at 302 S. Market St. and is about a block absent from the San Jose Convention Center.

Produced in 1926, the six-tale landmark Westin San Jose resort was made in an Italian Renaissance Revival and Mediterranean Revival fashion of architecture.

The resort was restored in the 1990s and was then regarded as the Hyatt Sainte Claire. Soon immediately after 2000, it was renamed the Resort Sainte Claire. Following yet another renovation, the hotel was rebranded as the Westin San Jose in 2015.

With the offer, Khanna Enterprises now owns two motels within just a block of just about every other in the city’s urban main. And both equally motels are brands owned by lodging titan Marriott.