Four NWA Hotels Sold to Little Rock Buyers For $48M

by Paul Gatling ([email protected]) 1,647 views 

A group of Little Rock investors has combined to spend $48 million on the acquisition of four hotels in Northwest Arkansas.

According to county real estate records, entities controlled by Wally Allen, Blair Allen and Matthew Allen paid $36.2 million for a trio of properties in Bentonville, all on Walton Boulevard — $19 million for DoubleTree Suites by Hilton (140 rooms) at 301 S.E. Walton Blvd., $5.4 million for Best Western Plus Castlerock Inn & Suites (83 rooms) next door at 501 S.E. Walton Blvd., and $11.8 million for Hilton Garden Inn (133 rooms) at 2204 S.E. Walton Blvd.

The group also shelled out $11.8 million for Staybridge Suites (109 rooms) at 1577 W. 15th St. in Fayetteville.

All four deals closed April 15, and the purchase price equals $103,225 per room.

Wally Allen is the managing partner of family-owned Little Rock hotel management firm Beechwood Hospitality. His two sons are partners in the company.

Allen confirmed the acquisition through an email, but did not return a phone message seeking additional comment.

Centennial Bank of Conway helped finance the deal.

All of the hotels will be operated by Beechwood Hospitality.

Kenneth Mourton of Fayetteville and the family of his former development partner, the late Tansukhlal “Tom” Bhakta of Springdale, were the sellers of all four properties.

The four hotels combined to collect $11.4 million in room revenue in 2014, according to the latest financial data available.

DoubleTree (No. 4; $4.5 million) and Hilton Garden Inn (No. 6; $3.44 million) were ranked among the top 10 properties in the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s annual list of Largest Hotels in Northwest Arkansas, published this past July.

Staybridge Suites ($2.27 million) was at No. 16 and Best Western Castlerock ($1.19 million) was at No. 38.