Westminster is quite an old city in Orange County, California. This city was founded as a Presbyterian temperance colony by Rev. Lemuel Webber in 1870. In fact, it is named after the Westminster Assembly of 1643, where the foundations of the Presbyterian faith were laid. As a highly religious town, farmers once refused to harvest grapes, due to the fact that they would be used to produce alcoholic wine. In 1957, with a population of 10,755, the city was incorporated.
The city has a very multicultural feel to it, mainly due to the arrival of many Vietnamese refugees in the 1980s. In fact, Westminster is home to “Little Saigon” and it is known the world over as the “capital” of Vietnamese immigrants. In fact, 40.2% of the population of Westminster is of Vietnamese descent, equating to 36,058 people.
The city is home to Westminster Mall, out of which some 180 different stores operate. It is also home to the headquarters of DVS Shoes. Overall, however, due to the large Vietnamese population, most people work in the hospitality industry and small shops and stores in Little Saigon. Other top employers are found in educational, health care, governmental, aerospace, retail, and financial services. The city also thrives on tourism for those interested in Little Saigon and those who are visiting the nearby Disneyland Resorts.
Westminster Hotel & Motel Property for Sale & Lease – Should You Buy or Lease?
If you are interested in hotel & motel properties, be that as an investment or to run a business out of, you have two options available to you: buying or leasing. There are pros and cons to both leasing and buying hotels and motels. As an investment, whether you purchase or lease the property, and whether you look into an entire hotel or motel or a single room only, the advantages include:
- A low requirement for capital investment (if you purchase a single room), while ensuring a high return, particularly if you invest in a hotel room in Orange County, where demand is very high.
- The option of having a fixed rate of return, which is available for both buyers and lessees, without having to take on any of the risks of hotel management. This means that if there are customer complaints or breakages, the responsibility lies with the hotel manager.
- Having a steady return available to you, particularly in Orange County, with high average daily rates.
- Being able to use the hotel or room for your own personal use as well, although this means that you will not earn an income at that time.
Essentially, hotel & motel properties offer investors a profitable, low risk method of having a diverse investment portfolio.
However, downsides exist with investing in hotel & motel property as well:
- Collecting returns can be incredibly complex in terms of jurisdiction and taxes.
- Not having any influence on the marketing policy of the hotel, or of its management strategy, unless you purchase the entire operation.
- You need to have a good foundation of knowledge in the hotel industry in order to ensure that you are playing the market right.
- There is some seasonality involved in hotels, which means you won’t always have a good or predictable month per month income.
- Competition to make a single room purchase in particular is incredibly high, particularly with foreign investors vying for any room that becomes available.
Westminster Hotel & Motel Property for Sale – Trends and Statistics
Westminster is home to a large number of established hotels and motels. Due to its proximity to the Disneyland Resorts, it is a very popular area with tourists. However, there are currently no hotels for sale in the area. It is believed that this is due to the fact that there have been very few new developments since 2015, and those that have been developed are established, and all rooms have been purchased.
Westminster Hotel & Motel Property for Lease – Trends and Statistics
Similarly, there are currently no hotel and motel properties for lease in Westminster. Again, this is due to the market being fully established, and operating at good capacity.
As you can see, the investment market for hotel and motel properties in Westminster, CA, is not very positive at the moment. That said, with a significant boost in the economy of Orange County as a whole, there is a chance that new developments will take place. As an investor, keeping your eye on movements within the commercial real estate market as a whole should always be a top priority. What the lack of available properties also means, is that investing in hotel and motel properties in Westminster is likely to be very successful. As such, if a property does become available, whether or not thatis for lease or for purchase, you should grab the opportunity to snap it up.