Whether you want to stay on Disney World property or not, it can be a really tough decision, especially when it comes to non-Disney owned hotels located on Disney property! One such resort was just sold for a cool $120.5 million, and here’s what you need to know.
The Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek is located on the south eastern side of Disney property in the Lake Buena Vista area, not far from Disney hotels like Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, and Riviera Resort. But despite being located on Disney property, it’s not actually owned by Disney, and it was just sold as reported by the American website All Ears and others.
As reported by the Orlando Business Journal, Tishman, a New York property firm, bought the Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek for $120.5 million on March 28th according to Orange County records. This means they paid about $301,250 per room (there are 400 rooms).
The Orlando Business Journal reported that this is not the first time Tishman has been involved in the Orlando market. Other Tishman-owned properties in Orlando include the Swan and Dolphin Resort hotels and the new Swan Reserve hotel (co-owned with MetLife), among others.
This isn’t the first big hotel deal in recent years, as the Four Seasons Resort Orlando sold for $610 million in 2021 to a Maryland-based property investment trust called Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. That comes out to $1.4 million per room!
Visit Orlando President and CEO Casandra Matej stated that Orlando’s average hotel occupancy rate has increased as of March, which is notable as the hotel industry continues to recover from the impact of COVID-19. Since the start of the pandemic, the week of March 13th to 19th was up by 90.5%, marking it as the “highest rate since the start of the pandemic.”
Our comment
A very interesting move by Wyndham, one thing for certain it’s not down to contraction or lack of corporate funds. With Wyndham being the largest timeshare group on the planet the decision to sell Bonnet Creek must have been driven by other motives. Across the Wyndham brands they have over 30 outlets in the Orlando area, so maybe they think that’s enough, but to give up one in the prime position of being on a Disney property begs questions.
As Bonnet Creek is in part hotel and timeshare property one wonders if the new owner will still welcome timeshare owners who have this venue as their home resort. Many timeshare owners buy in central Florida because of the pull of the Disney and other theme parks and use the same timeshare year on year, at least until the kids have grown, so it will be interesting to see if Bonnet Creek will still feature in both the Wyndham portfolio and the exchange companies.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk