US hotel real estate sales set for slide of up to 50%

Sales of US hotels are expected to fall as much as 50 per cent this year because the credit squeeze has reshaped investors' ability to purchase real estate, says a report due for release today.

The value of hotel property sales is expected to fall to $23bn-$26bn, down from a record $45bn in 2007, as deals become more difficult, according to real estate brokers Jones Lang Lasalle. The expected slide in sales would more than undo last year's 38 per cent rise.

"The credit crunch has halted mega-deals and many portfolio deals," the report will say.