jjcollins
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 26, 1999
One of Osceola County's largest hoteliers has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, preventing the building's sale at a foreclosure auction on Wednesday.
Orlando Hyatt Hotel Associates LP of Rockville, Md., owns the Hyatt Orlando on U.S. Highway 192 near Interstate 4 in Kissimmee. The company filed its reorganization petition on Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Orlando.
Hyatt Corp. manages the 919-room hotel but isn't an owner. Spokeswoman Lori Armon said Wednesday that "Hyatt will continue to manage the hotel regardless of the owner, at this point."
LaSalle Bank National Association of Illinois foreclosed on Orlando Hyatt in January after the company missed a mortgage payment. State Circuit Court records in Kissimmee show Orlando Hyatt owing the bank $29.5 million, including penalties and interest.
Orlando Hyatt attorney Scott Shuker said Wednesday that the company will challenge that amount in bankruptcy court.
Orlando Hyatt isn't the only Osceola County hotelier to fail since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Wash- ington, D.C., pounded Central Florida's tourist economy -- though it is the largest.
Since the first of the year, at least two smaller lodging establishments have been sold at court-ordered auctions, and "there are rumblings about three or four more," said Janak Desai, president of the Orlando/Kissimmee Hotel Motel Association.
Others are struggling, taking on additional debt to pay bills in hopes that business improves soon, he said.
"It's a roller coaster that we are on," Desai said. "We have spurts of good times and spurts of bad times." Business has slacked off since Easter, he said, but hoteliers say they are hopeful for a strong summer.
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Orlando Hyatt Hotel Associates LP of Rockville, Md., owns the Hyatt Orlando on U.S. Highway 192 near Interstate 4 in Kissimmee. The company filed its reorganization petition on Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Orlando.
Hyatt Corp. manages the 919-room hotel but isn't an owner. Spokeswoman Lori Armon said Wednesday that "Hyatt will continue to manage the hotel regardless of the owner, at this point."
LaSalle Bank National Association of Illinois foreclosed on Orlando Hyatt in January after the company missed a mortgage payment. State Circuit Court records in Kissimmee show Orlando Hyatt owing the bank $29.5 million, including penalties and interest.
Orlando Hyatt attorney Scott Shuker said Wednesday that the company will challenge that amount in bankruptcy court.
Orlando Hyatt isn't the only Osceola County hotelier to fail since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Wash- ington, D.C., pounded Central Florida's tourist economy -- though it is the largest.
Since the first of the year, at least two smaller lodging establishments have been sold at court-ordered auctions, and "there are rumblings about three or four more," said Janak Desai, president of the Orlando/Kissimmee Hotel Motel Association.
Others are struggling, taking on additional debt to pay bills in hopes that business improves soon, he said.
"It's a roller coaster that we are on," Desai said. "We have spurts of good times and spurts of bad times." Business has slacked off since Easter, he said, but hoteliers say they are hopeful for a strong summer.
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