Anaheim, CA (August 3, 2023) – The Mogharebi Group has arranged the sale of the 60-year-old Budget Inn, a 24-key limited-service hotel located at 1042 Ball Road in Anaheim, announced Mogharebi’s Executive Vice President Otto Ozen. The buyer was local private investor Sunstone Development which intends to explore long-term alternative strategies for the site including full-service hotel uses.
The off-market transaction completes Sunstone’s 1.1-acre land assemblage at the gateway to Disneyland Park that included the purchase of the adjacent 44-key Days Inn by Wyndham last year. Sunstone recognized that together, these properties combined were much more valuable than the sum of its parts, according to Ozen, who along with Senior Vice President Brian Nakamura advised the Orange County-based buyer on both transactions.
“The economic environment notwithstanding, we had to navigate through a very difficult and complicated process which included approaching a long-term property owner with no intention to sell,” Ozen said.
“Due to a variety of factors, there were multiple points over the past few years where both deals could have easily fallen apart, including the COVID pandemic which closed all hotels in the area for more than a year,” added Frank Muhlon, a senior executive with Sunstone Development. “However, the Mogharebi team’s persistence and negotiation skills helped get us to the finish line.”
The Anaheim area continues its resilient economic rebound since the pandemic. In 2019, Anaheim received 24.2 million visitors. In 2022, reports show there were 25.5 million visitors, according to Visit Anaheim’s data. Hotel consulting firm HVS also has reported that within the Anaheim-Santa Ana market, revenue per available room (RevPAR), a major indicator of hotel performance has surpassed pre-pandemic levels.1
“We are excited to be Disneyland’s neighbor and a part of Anaheim’s future,” said Blake Wettengel, Chief Executive Officer of Sunstone Development.
1 https://hvi.hvs.com/market/united-states/Anaheim_-_Santa_Ana
