Ascendant Capital Partners (“Ascendant”), a vertically integrated real estate investment and operating platform, today announced the acquisition of an eight-hotel portfolio (the “Portfolio”) from Coastal Hospitality Associates, LLC (“Coastal Hospitality”). The Portfolio comprises 965 predominantly beachfront rooms across six hotels in Virginia Beach, Va. and two hotels in the Outer Banks, N.C., furthering Ascendant’s strategic focus on institutional-quality hospitality assets in durable, demand-driven leisure destinations.
The Portfolio was assembled over decades by the late Thomas J. Lyons, Jr., founder of Coastal Hospitality, a pioneering hotel developer widely recognized for helping transform the Virginia Beach oceanfront into a national hospitality destination. Beginning with the acquisition of a 12-room inn in 1968, Lyons developed nearly 40 hotels across Virginia and North Carolina, establishing one of the Mid-Atlantic’s most respected privately owned hospitality portfolios. Ascendant will seek to implement targeted capital and operational enhancements across the Portfolio, including executing select guest-facing improvements to strengthen asset performance and guest experience. In conjunction with the closing, Schulte Hospitality Group (“SHG”), a best-in-class hospitality management and development company, will assume operations of the Portfolio.
“This transaction reflects the continued execution of our differentiated hospitality strategy, which is focused on high-quality assets in dynamic, supply-constrained markets with resilient demand drivers,” said Alex Halpern, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Ascendant. “The Portfolio offers a unique concentration of beachfront properties in established Southeastern destinations, supported by a diverse mix of tourism, government, and corporate demand. Thomas J. Lyons, Jr. spent decades assembling and developing one of the premier hospitality portfolios in Virginia and the Outer Banks, and we are honored to continue that legacy while investing in the long-term success of these exceptional properties.”
The Portfolio consists of eight well-maintained, select-service hotels, five of which have been extensively renovated since 2022: SpringHill Suites by Marriott Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Residence Inn by Marriott Virginia Beach Town Center, Residence Inn by Marriott Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Holiday Inn VA Beach-Oceanside, Holiday Inn Express & Suites VA Beach Oceanfront, Holiday Inn Express Nags Head Oceanfront, and Holiday Inn Express Kitty Hawk – Outer Banks.
Seven of the eight properties are beachfront, with most rooms offering direct ocean views and outdoor balconies, while the remaining asset is a centrally located town center hotel. The Portfolio benefits from long-standing leisure travel as well as government, military, and group demand drivers.
“We have built and operated this Portfolio with an unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences, and we are proud of the operational success and renovations we’ve achieved under our ownership,” said Christopher Brown, President of Coastal Hospitality. “Ascendant brings deep expertise in hospitality, and we are confident their team will build on the strong foundation that has been established across the Portfolio.”
“We are excited to deepen our partnership with Ascendant and bring our operational expertise to assets with strong fundamentals and significant upside potential,” said Darryl Schulte, Chief Executive Officer of SHG. “Our team will focus on driving performance through disciplined execution, enhanced commercial strategies, and delivering a high-quality experience for guests across each of these properties.”
CBRE Hotels served as sell-side advisor to Coastal Hospitality, and CBRE Debt & Structured Finance served as financing advisor to Ascendant.
About Ascendant Capital Partners
Ascendant is a vertically integrated real estate investment firm headquartered in Los Angeles and a regional office in Dallas. Ascendant manages discretionary commingled institutional funds focused on the hospitality and residential sectors. The firm’s partners have decades of experience acquiring, developing, operating and asset managing real estate assets and operating companies. Ascendant focuses on US gateway markets and high-growth cities such as New York, Boston, Miami, Houston, Phoenix and Dallas. For more information, please visit https://www.ascendantcapital.com.
About Schulte Hospitality Group
Schulte Hospitality Group is a premier hospitality management and development company, overseeing a global portfolio of more than 250 hotels, restaurants, and other related hospitality ventures with a team of over 10,000 team members. Founded in 1999 by generations of passionate hoteliers, Schulte is one of the industry’s most respected full-service operators, with a diverse portfolio spanning leading brands like Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Hyatt, and Graduate Hotels, as well as distinctive luxury, boutique, and independent resorts. Headquartered in Louisville, KY and with an office in London, Schulte is known for providing high-touch client service, delivering data-driven top line and bottom-line results to owners, and developing leaders on property teams. For more information, visit: www.schultehospitality.com
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