Center City Marriott Hotel Up For Sale Possibly Due To Low Bookings At Convention Center
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A website that follows the commercial real estate industry reports that the Marriott Hotel in Center City is up for sale and declining Convention Center bookings may be the cause.
The owner of the Marriott, Host Hotels and Resorts, did not return a call seeking comment, but the website Real Estate Alert http://www.realert.com/ reports that Host hopes to sell the 1,400 room Marriott and the site says the hotel could sell for more than $300 million.
Ed Grose, Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, attributes the company's move to fewer bookings at the adjacent Pennsylvania Convention Center.
"Its indicative of what Host sees for the next few years in the Philadelphia hotel industry. They see our booking pace is down, and they think it's a good time to sell the property," Grose explains.
In fact, only eight major conventions are booked so far for 2016.
However, Grose says even if the building is sold, he fully expects that Marriott will continue to run it.
"To the general consumer, it will still have the same look and feel of a Marriott hotel. It just will no longer be owned by Host. I don't expect any changes. I expect it to remain a Marriott, with the same service levels," he says.
