Bryan Giglia

The sun is shining on Aliso Viejo-based Sunstone Hotel Investors this year. 

In late July, the hotel real estate investment trust closed the $279 million sale of the 821-room Hyatt Regency San Francisco to Blackstone Real Estate. At $340,000 per key, the deal represented a premium valuation for the low-yield asset.

Sunstone, led by company veteran Bryan Giglia, owns upscale hotels across the U.S. in cities such as San Diego, Washington, D.C., Boston and Miami. Its 13-hotel portfolio includes Wailea Beach Resort in Hawaii, Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley in California and Florida’s Hilton Key West Resort & Marina.

Giglia joined the REIT in 2004 and ascended its ranks through a series of finance roles. He arrived at Sunstone fresh out of the University of Southern California’s MBA program, and previously worked in accounting at Hilton Hotel Corporation. 

In an second-quarter earnings call in early August, Giglia announced that the REIT had increased its outlook for the year, citing the Hyatt Regency San Francisco sale and the company’s better-than-expected performance during the  previous three months.

Sunstone reported net income of $26 million for the quarter and $44.6 million over the previous six months. Both figures represented triple-digit percentage growth from the prior year. 

The company attributed its recent success to increased summer travel and special events, like the FIFA World Cup, alongside sustained strength in group and corporate demand. Sunstone’s six-month revenue rose to $536.8 million, with revenue per available room increasing 9.3 percent to $263.61 over the quarter. Occupancy across its portfolio hit 77.6 percent.

“In terms of the transaction market, the interest we saw in our San Francisco sale process was encouraging and reflects continued momentum,” Giglia told investors in August. “The environment looks to be more conducive to further executing our capital recycling strategy and continuing to demonstrate the value of our portfolio.”