Longtime Kissimmee hotelier Johnson Young sold the 158-room Travelodge Suites behind the giant, orange-shaped gift shop on W192 this week for $5.25 million.
Young built the hotel in 1991 and has operated it through his family-run hospitality business ever since. The family also owns and manages a Howard Johnson hotel on Lake Cecile and a shopping center on the W192 corridor.
Marcus & Millichap’s Kent Hricko represented the seller. He also has a sale pending on the Howard Johnson property.
Trident Hospitality Florida, led by veteran Orlando hotelier Shirish Doolabh, bought the asset to fulfill a 1031 exchange following his sale in September of a Days Inn next to the Orange County Correctional Facility.
Ironically, both the seller and buyer told GrowthSpotter they were looking to retire from the business. But Doolabh said he couldn’t resist buying a W192 hotel across the street from the new $3 billion Magic Place by Pininfarina, which is under construction now.
“I was planning to retire, but the attraction of the 1031 exchange was too good to not utilize,” he said on Tuesday. “However, I will not be physically managing the property, as I have leased it to Kissimmee Orange Hotels, LLC.”
Doolabh said he plans to maintain the Travelodge franchise and keep the existing management and staffing in place. He said the lessee would be actively involved in all policy decisions.
“We plan to spend in excess of $300,000 on renovations in the next six months,” he added.
The lessee is the same New York hotelier who bought the Days Inn from Dooblah in early September. Principal Willie Singh had more than 25 years experience managing Wydham hotels in New York City before entering the Orlando market this year.
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