Longview, TX (November 2, 2007) - There has been much speculation as to what the crash in the sub-prime market is going to do to Hotel lending and construction.  My quick answers would little and nothing respectively but let me explain because it is certainly not that simple. 

While hotel lending does not really have a sub-prime aspect in name it does have “conduit” lending.  This lending source is used for stabilized operating hotels and is significantly more sophisticated than what was happening in the Housing sub-prime market.

I say that the sub-prime crash will have little to do with hotel construction because most hotel developers do not use the “conduit” market for financing.  They tend to use more conventional and local financing for the construction of hotels.  In doing so they are working with people who are inherently more familiar with the local market needs than conduit financers.  They operate with more of a gut feeling for their market and the creditor.  Many times a decision is made just as much on the reputation of the borrowers and their place in the community and past loan performance. 

These people will still have no problem getting construction loans.  There is still plenty of money in circulation and if lenders don’t lend it, they will not make any money.  Who better to lend it to than someone with a proven record of good operations and payback history.

What effect it will have, if the markets don’t change, is that they will not be able to take mature project and refinance them into conduit lenders.  This will only effect construction in the very long term as many use the conduit financing to get no liability loans as much as to get lower interest rates.  Of course the other reason to refinance is to pull out a little equity from performing assets to provide capital needed for the next project.  If this source of capital goes away without being replaced by another source, construction will slow.

What we do know is that the markets will change.  The markets seem to be driven by emotion as much as by economics sometimes.  I believe the reaction to the sub-prime problem is in that emotional state now.  This has caused some of the buyers of conduit loan packages to shy away, not because of the economics of the credit but because of the emotions of the day.  These people will re-enter the market for these loans because of the economics when the emotions subside. 

When will that be?  How good is your crystal ball?  The truth is it is having no short term effect on construction lending and therefore no effect on the hotel pipeline at this time.  What will have an effect on that pipeline is the slight drop in occupancy that the industry is feeling in 2007 due to new supply.

Written by Kevin P. Hilchey, President of Lodging Host Hotel Corp.