The California Lodging Investment Conference [CLIC], the only hospitality conference focused on the California hotel market, held its fifth annual event at the JW Marriott Anaheim Resort. With nearly 300 attendees, the one-day event hosted multiple panels led by industry experts discussing the California hotel real estate market in depth.
“With a fantastic introductory keynote by Bruce Ford of Lodging Econometrics and panel topics ranging from the current status of the Golden State hotel market to hotel lending and investment opportunities, this truly was one of the best events we’ve held to-date,” said Craig Sullivan, founder/president, [CLIC]. “While there are innumerable hospitality events throughout the year, [CLIC] is the only conference to focus exclusively on the California marketplace. We pride ourselves on the expert speakers and participants we assemble each year, and with 10 brands, five lenders and hundreds of industry professionals, we have hit a high-water mark in 2022. The bar has been raised for 2023, and I look forward to an even more successful event next year.”
The full-day event began with a keynote address by Ford, SVP/director, global business development, Lodging Econometrics, where he gave an in-depth synopsis of the California hotel real estate landscape. Additional panels included the “Hotel Brand Panel,” “Overview of the California Hotel Market,” “Hotel Development Round Table: The Agony and The Ecstasy,” “Hotel Lending Panel” and “Hotel Investment: Opportunity Now.” Each discussion provided attendees an opportunity to gain valuable insight into the current climate surrounding the California hotel industry.
“Coming off of a record-setting 2021 in terms of transactions, 2022 has all the indicators that this year will be great for hotel sales and development,” Sullivan added. “Lodging Econometrics is predicting 92 hotels totaling 11,403 rooms will enter California in ’22, with an additional 117 hotels totaling 13,444 rooms coming online in ‘23. The outlook for California hotel real estate construction is robust, indeed.”
The conference also presented two awards, the inaugural [CLIC] Deal of the Year and the [CLIC] Lifetime Achievement Award. The Deal of the Year was awarded to the JW Marriott Anaheim Resort for best-in-class, best new full-service hotel in California with a complex backstory that was discussed during the “Hotel Development Round Table: The Agony and The Ecstasy” panel. Alan Reay, Atlas Hospitality Group, the state’s most prolific hotel broker with more than 600 completed transactions in California, was the recipient of the [CLIC] Lifetime Achievement Award.
“[CLIC] prides itself on giving back to the hospitality community,” Sullivan added. “Since our first year, we have provided donations to such illustrious organizations as CLIA, AAHOA, CREW-Orange County, CH&LA and Bracken’s Kitchen. To date, we have been able to raise more than $25,000 for these causes and look forward to actively raising additional monies for these and other worthy groups.”
Photo caption: (L to R) Ron Kim, Prospera Hotels; Bill O’Connell, O’Connell Hospitality; Swati Patel, Prospera Hotels; and Kay Lang, Kay Lang & Associates.
