Muristek
Westin San Jose hotel in downtown San Jose
Aju Hotels & Resorts Co., a hospitality firm under Korean conglomerate Aju Group, sold a San Francisco-based hotel to a US hospitality company Khanna Enterprises Ltd.’s affiliate. The Korean company acquired the hotel for $64 million in 2017 and sold the property for $44.9 million with a 29.8% loss, US local media reported based on Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office data. The property, named The Westin San Jose, is in the landmark Sainte Claire Hotel building constructed in 1926. The six-story hotel has 171 guest rooms, 10 meeting rooms and other amenities. Despite the building's reputation, the hotel's value has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19, market watchers said.The acquisition in 2017 was followed by Aju’s hotel purchase in the same region. In 2015, Aju bought Holiday in San Jose with 354 guest rooms for $53.5 million. Aju has actively acquired US-based hotels for the past years under Chief Executive Moon Yoon-hoi's leadership, who studied hotel administration at Conell University and is the eldest son of Aju Group's chairman. In 2019, Aju bought two Hyatt hotels in New York –Hyatt Place New York/Midtown-South for $86 million and Hyatt Herald Square for $52 million. In 2018, Aju acquired AC Hotel Seattle Bellevue/Downtown in Washington for $87 million from Marriott International Inc. In addition, the Korean hospitality company operates two more hotels in the US - The Ven Embassy Row Hotel in DC and Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles.Founded in 1960, Aju Group owns subsidiaries in various industries. In addition to the hotel business, it operates venture capital firm Aju IB Investment Co., construction materials company Aju Corp., global car retailer Aju Networks, vehicle repair firm Aju Motors and others.By Jihyun Kimsnowy@hankyung.com
Most Read