Pritzker's Choice - A few quick notes regarding last week's announced sale of the Thompson Miami Beach by Geolo

First, the brilliance of the asset-light strategy taken by many hospitality management companies is put in the spotlight. Why should a CEO have to choose between stunting the growth yet again of a well-liked brand, such as Thompson, in exchange for an opportunistic market-cycle-based transaction. Who can resist the temptation to sell high after buying low three short years ago. At some point you have to be a company who either loves "the deal" or loves building brand equity, but not both.

Second, is it time to unload Miami Beach assets? It has been a beautiful ride since the valley of 2009, but in terms of operating metrics, we are not at the top of a double diamond downward slope but instead at an inflection point: the transition from RevPAR improving at an increasing rate to RevPAR improving at a decreasing rate.

Sip a soy latte at Panther Coffee and you will hear that everyone wants to sell their hotels on the beach. But the buyers who could not get in several years ago are beginning to be concerned more with value and specifically how they can generate value from freshly built or renovated assets. There is little evidence that the Thompson Miami Beach sale will start an avalanche of transactions. However, there are more than a few investors who are in a position to cash out and pat themselves on the back.

It appears that at all levels, this year is about incorporating a greater level of uncertainty into the normal course of events. For some investors, especially those who love "the deal", it will be difficult not to entertain compelling offers.