The Joie de Vivre Hospitality Group, already running hotels such as The Hotel Triton and 26 other “boutique” properties in the Bay Area has been retained by an as yet unnamed “private” investor to manage 308 rooms near 7th & Mission. These are currently part of The Best Western franchise just sold by Reneson Hotel Group.

Currently, these properties were aimed at mid-range budget & family travellers, and operate under the names Best Western Americania ( 143 rooms), Best Western Carriage Inn (48 Rooms), Best Western Flamingo Inn ( 38 rooms) and The Hotel Britton(79 Rooms). The hotels will likely undergo a makeover, name change and attain a hipper and no doubt pricier profile in the coming months.

In a press release Mark McDermott, a Senior VP with real estate consultant Colliers International Hotels’ SF HQ involved in the sale said .

“While the seller was motivated in part by the current strength of the real estate investment market, the transaction is a win-win in the sense that the new owner will be able to take advantage of both a robust citywide hotel market and the neighborhood’s growth prospects”.

To read more on SF’s tourist industry stats, glib press release fodder and some rampant speculation fit only for the blogosphere…continue on past the jump.

A recent report from Ernest & Young shows that San Francisco experienced the greatest growth in California’s hotlel occupancy with a three percent increase. Now at about 78%, SF’s occupancy is just shy of the 81% recorded during the pre 9-11 dotcom boom. SF also boasted the highest increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR) at 12.4 percent, the average room here goes for average daily rate at $167. Could that be why the 13 hotels were recently so quick to secure a new union contract and keep the SEIU’s strike from hampering growth and scaring away conventions?

Enjoying SF’s boom is Joie De Vivre Hospitality Group already 33 properties strong, and one of the industries most rapidly growing hotel companies, now expanding into the Southern California market as well. They took over a bland aging Holiday Inn on the 405 in LA recently and have turned it into a preminent destination hotel in West LA called The Hotel Angeleno. They are also involved in the revitalization and management of two properties in San Francisco’s Japantown: The 218-room Radisson Miyako Hotel and the 125-room Best Western Miyako Inn. Both hotels (along with their adjacent malls) have been purchased by 3D Investments, and Joie de Vivre is “repositioning” the properties.

Currently SF’s hotel scene is seeing bursts of “repositioning”, the Park Hyatt is now a Le Meridien, considered one of Starwood’s premiere bransds, of which only 5 operate in the US. The old Chinatown Holiday Inn had over $40 million dumped into it to become the “Financial District Hilton”. The Pan Pacific was recently converted into a JW Marriott and near Moscone Center on 3rd St, The Argent Hotel is scheduled to be rebranded as a Westin. The city will also see the opening soon of SF’s first so-called “Green” Hotel, the nine story Orchard Garden Hotel , an 86 room “environmentally friendly” property on the 400 block of Bush St.