Kemmons Wilson Hospitality Partners and Ascendant Capital Partners through the joint venture, KW Kingfisher, has completed the acquisition of Sotherly Hotels. The acquisition was first announced in late October 2025.
The acquisition meaningfully expands KWHP’s and Ascendant’s respective high-quality hospitality portfolios in strategic Southeastern U.S. submarkets with established demand, according to the companies.
In conjunction with the closing, Schulte Hospitality Group will assume operations of Sotherly’s 10 full-service hotels and its single condo-hotel management agreement. In addition to hotel management, the founders of SHG have invested alongside the investor group acquiring Sotherly, further aligning SHG with the ownership of the Sotherly portfolio.
“Over two decades, the Sotherly team has built an attractive portfolio of assets in durable Southeastern travel destinations,” Webb Wilson, KWHP’s chief investment officer, said in a statement. “Guided by our ethos that ‘Everybody Deserves Hospitality’, we have assembled a deeply experienced and talented team with Ascendant and Schulte to build on the portfolio’s compelling foundation. The Sotherly acquisition amplifies KWHP’s deep history of investing in differentiated hospitality, and we look forward to exercising our combined resources and expertise to make strategic enhancements that improve overall guest experience.”
“This acquisition is a significant step forward in the ongoing execution of our hospitality strategy, which is focused squarely on high-quality assets in diverse submarkets with attractive underlying dynamics," said Alex Halpern, chief investment officer of Ascendant. "Our team’s deep hospitality experience and close partnership with KWHP have allowed us to capitalize on this compelling opportunity, and the success of this deal is a testament to that collective effort. We look forward to working with our partners to continue delivering exceptional experiences for our guests.”
“For more than 25 years, SHG has combined the latest advanced operations systems with a relentless dedication to operational excellence,” said Darryl Schulte, SHG chairman and CEO. “We are very excited to deliver our suite of services and industry leading practices to this portfolio and ensure guests can enjoy these properties for many years to come. We are confident that our continued partnership with KWHP and Ascendant will enhance the experience of guests and employees, and drive growth for these upscale assets.”
Apollo spokesperson issued this statement on the acquisition:
“Apollo affiliates acted as a committed lender to Kemmons Wilson Hospitality Partners and Ascendant throughout their acquisition of Sotherly Hotels, structuring a bespoke financing solution aligned with their investment strategy and transaction timeline. Our early commitment and collaborative approach supported the sponsors’ conviction to advance and complete the merger. This transaction demonstrates the strength of our balance sheet and marks our second commercial real estate public-to-private financing in 2026. Strong alignment, transparency and trust across all parties enabled an efficient closing process.”