Economy blamed for closure of former Ponchartrain Hotel
The Detroit News reports: The Riverside Hotel, formerly the Pontchartain, has become downtown's first major hotel to shutter amid a national wave of distressed properties.
The once-elegant hotel, at 2 Washington Blvd., across the street from Cobo Center, is under a court-appointed receiver, who closed it two weeks ago.
"I decided to shut it down after I realized I didn't have the money to pay the employees," said David Findling, the Royal Oak lawyer who has been the hotel's receiver for over a month.
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"But I want to emphasize it's temporarily shut. I've had inquires from potential buyers, so it's far from over."
U.S. hotel occupancy, which registered 64 percent in July, is at its lowest level since Smith Travel Research began tracking the figure in 1987.
Metro Detroit's occupancy is just under 50 percent, according to the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau. Last year's occupancy rate was 56 percent.
Commercial real estate information firm Real Capital Analytics classifies $18 billion in hotel loans as distressed, compared to 1.3 billion a year ago. Distressed can mean the hotels are delinquent in loan payments, in foreclosure, in bankruptcy or have been restructured by lenders.
View the full article on The Detroit News: Economy blamed for closure of former Ponchartrain Hotel
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