BGL Real Estate Advisors Completes Conversion and Financial Restructuring to Introduce Three New Wyndham Hotels

Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is pleased to announce the completion of the brand conversion and financial restructuring of three new Wyndham hotels accounting for 397 keys, on behalf of the hotels’ owners, Ceres Enterprises and The Orlean Company. The hotels include the 113-key Wyndham Avon (OH), the 132-key Wyndham Noblesville (IN), and the 152-key Wyndham Westfield (IN). Ceres Enterprises also owns and operates The Orbit Hotel, a Trademark Collection by Wyndham, a 54-key hotel that is housed in a former NASA office building at the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport—bringing the portfolio to four Wyndham-branded hotels.

BGL’s Real Estate Advisors team advised the owners throughout the conversion process, sourced fresh capital, and negotiated with current lenders to restructure the assets’ balance sheet and optimize future operations. The sequencing of the brand conversion and restructure included:

i) Advising ownership with various strategic alternatives regarding the hotel conversions

ii) Sourcing private capital to retire previous brand Mezzanine loans across the portfolio

iii) Negotiating with the CMBS lender’s Special Servicer on a payoff of their loan

iv) Refinancing the Wyndham Noblesville with an interest-only bridge loan from American Bank, N.A.

v) Raising preferred equity to recapitalize the balance sheets of Wyndham Avon and Wyndham Westfield

vi) Negotiating a Loan Modification with a current senior lender to insulate the equity position in the asset

This 397-key portfolio was originally developed and constructed by Ceres Enterprises & The Orlean Company. All properties are located around major interchanges, with unique demand drivers within each submarket and strong historical performance.

“Introducing these new hotels in Ohio and Indiana delivers on our promise of delivering exceptional experiences for the everyday traveler,” said Amit Sripathi, Chief Development Officer, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. “By joining forces with the world’s largest hotel franchisor, Ceres Enterprises unlocks The Wyndham Advantage—global marketing, innovative technology, and access to our award-winning Wyndham Rewards program—which will support the success of these hotels as they begin welcoming guests for unforgettable stays.”

“Switching our hotels to the Wyndham flag has led to a significant boost in both our top and bottom lines,” said David Crisafi, President of Ceres Enterprises. “Without changing the asset location or its physical condition, the lever of accretive revenue has been remarkable.”

Ceres Enterprises is a leading developer and operator of premier hotels in the Midwestern United States, whose portfolio includes Marriott, Hilton, and Wyndham hotels. The Orlean Company is a leading Ohio-based real estate developer with extensive ground-up commercial real estate experience, including senior and assisted living care housing, affordable and market-rate multifamily housing, and commercial retail and for-sale housing in Northeast Ohio.

BGL’s Real Estate Advisors team offers comprehensive real estate investment banking services tailored to the middle market. It provides client-focused solutions with an emphasis on real estate advisory, debt, preferred and private equity placement, financial restructuring, recapitalizations, sale-leasebacks, structured finance, and asset acquisitions and dispositions across all asset classes. The team assists real estate owners and developers looking to form alliances and joint ventures with single-source capital providers to gain local and institutional access for all capital needs.