Winston, GEFF Unveil 1-Stop Hotel Finance

Winston Hotels Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Raleigh, N.C., and hospitality lender GE Commercial Finance, Franchise Finance have announced the introduction of a "one-stop shop" hotel finance program.The program will provide loans for up to 85% of a project's construction cost, and will also be available for hotel acquisitions and refinancing, the companies said. "Typically, a developer negotiates with the first-mortgage, or 'A-piece', lender and then conducts a separate negotiation with the mezzanine lender to obtain financing for as much as 85% of a project's cost," said Joe Green, president and chief financial officer of Winston Hotels. "Borrowers must then coordinate between those two lenders, which can be a very involved, often lengthy, and costly process that requires a substantial amount of additional time and paperwork. This loan program cuts through that extended process and boils it down to one negotiation with one lender for both the A and B pieces. The borrower has one blended rate and one mortgage payment." The companies can be found online at http://www.winstonhotels.com and http://www.gefranchisefinance.com.