Supertel Completes Hotel Buys, Adds 3,000 Rooms

July 20, 2007
By Colleen Corley, Contributing Editor

Limited-service hotel real estate investment trust Supertel Hospitality Inc. has established its place in the industry-wide push among niche REITs to increase market exposure with the completed acquisition of 27 hotels across the United States, with financing from GE Capital Solutions, franchise finance.

GE Capital Solutions’ three-part, $75 million financing enabled the Nebraska-based hotel chain to increase its number of rooms by half, from 6,500 to its current holdings of 9,908, so far this year. The largest chunk of the gain was the $42.7 million acquisition of 15 Masters Inn hotels in May. The hotel acquisitions are include Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, Days Inn, and Sleep Inn motel brands in addition to other flags.

Supertel, according to an investor report from the company, is the only public real estate investment trust that invests solely in limited-service hotels. Supertel’s CFO, Don Heimes, told CPN in January that the company’s hold over the market--and its push to grow through acquisitions--has attracted sellers looking to divest such brands.

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