West Palm Beach hotel owner mulls sale at US$1 million a room

WHEELOCK Street Capital is exploring a potential sale of the Ben, a waterfront hotel in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida.

The property owner has begun approaching potential buyers for a deal that could value the 208-room hotel at around US$1 million a key, according to sources with knowledge of the sales effort who asked not to be identified discussing a confidential matter. The firm is working with adviser CBRE Group, according to one of the sources.

A spokesperson for CBRE declined to comment, while a representative for Wheelock Street did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Wheelock Street, led by managing partners Rick Kleeman and Jonathan Paul, acquired the Ben in 2021, touting the hotel’s location at the “work-live-play epicentre of West Palm Beach”. The property, soft-branded as part of Marriott International’s Autograph Collection, includes a rooftop venue with views of Palm Beach Island and the Atlantic Ocean.

Hotel investors have been snapping up properties in West Palm Beach, where a burgeoning office market and booming residential sales are making hotel development sites hard to come by.

Brookfield Asset Management is nearing a deal to sell PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens to Henderson Park for US$425 million, Bloomberg News reported earlier. Billionaire Larry Ellison recently struck a deal to acquire Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in nearby Manalapan. BLOOMBERG