Tishman, MetLife Score $735M Disney Resort Refi as Travel Rebounds

Tishman Hotel & Realty and MetLife Investment Management scored a massive refinancing deal near one of America’s most famous theme parks, hinting that the lending roller coaster may be on the upswing. 

Lending giants Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs provided a five-year, $735 million loan to bolster the 2,619-key Swan & Dolphin Resort, adjacent to Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, according to a news release. JLL’s Kevin Davis, Mark Fisher and Caleigh O’Connell facilitated the floating-rate, CMBS loan. The debt comes to $250,000 per key.

Securing a loan of such magnitude is a triumph given the tight lending environment that’s delivered a blow to commercial real estate since last year, hindering sales across much of the nation, while making it tough for landlords to refinance their assets. 

Davis, who is CEO of JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group Americas, called the deal “an affirmation of the strong in-place cash flows, the unique competitive position for the resort and the incredible 35-year track record that Tishman and MIM have created in Orlando.”

The resort comprises three hotels — the 756-key Walt Disney World Swan, the 1,514-key Walt Disney World Dolphin and the 349-key Swan Reserve — all of which are part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection.  Tishman and MetLife built the hotels in 1989, 1990 and 2021, respectively, and they’re the only non-Disney owned hotels on the grounds of Walt Disney World.

The resort, about 25 minutes southwest of Orlando, features more than 452,000 square feet of meeting and event space and 100,000 square feet of outdoor space. Among its amenities are 16 restaurants, seven bars, three fitness centers, six pools and a 12,000-square-foot spa.

Several other Florida hotels have received nine-figure refinancings since late last year, signaling the hospitality industry’s continued recovery from the pandemic, which caused leisure travel to plummet.

In October, Fort Partners secured $410 million to refinance a pair of Four Seasons resorts in South Florida. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust nabbed a $140 million loan for its Margaritaville resort on Hollywood Beach about a month prior. 

—Quinn Donoghue