Hotel foreclosures soar. Now, hotels would make good places for the homeless

[Liberal_in_LA]

Better than McMansions out in the sticks, hotels would make good homes for the homeless. Particularly those extended stay places.

Hotel defaults, foreclosures rise in California
In the state, defaults and foreclosures are up fivefold since Jan. 1.

October 7, 2009
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More California hotels are being pushed into foreclosure as tourists and businesses alike scale back their travel plans and owners are unable to pay their mortgages.

Statewide, more than 300 hotels were in foreclosure or default on their loans as of Sept. 30 -- a nearly fivefold increase since the start of the year, according to an industry report released Tuesday.

The list of troubled properties includes the St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, the downtown Los Angeles Marriott, the Sheraton Universal and the W hotel in San Diego.

Most struggling hotels remain open, but industry experts believe many properties are likely to be closed down in the months ahead, even if they are not in foreclosure, because they are losing so much money. The owners of the renowned Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club in Carmel, for example, plan to close the hotel Nov. 16.

"I have never seen so many lenders contemplating mothballing properties," said Jim Butler, a hotel lawyer and chairman of the global hospitality group for Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro. "It can and it will get worse for the hotel industry."

The problem is not unique to California, but the effect is being felt especially hard here because of tourism's importance to the state.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hotels-foreclosure7-2009oct07,0,744154.story