Viceroy to manage Hotel Milano

Viceroy Hotels Group, which operates properties in such destinations as the United Arab Emirates, Mexico's Riviera Maya and Beverly Hills, Calif., is taking over its first San Francisco hotel, the Hotel Milano. Viceroy is managing the property for Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, which purchased the 108-room hotel for $30 million and will invest as much as another $10 million renovating the property. Pebblebrook will rename the hotel, located adjacent to the Westfield San Francisco Shopping Centre and near the Moscone Convention Center, once the improvements are completed. Viceroy, which in February entered the New York City market when it took over management of the Cassa Hotel in midtown Manhattan, also manages Pebblebrook's 310-room Sheraton Delfina in Santa Monica, Calif., as well as the 148-room Viceroy Miami. Pebblebrook is investing in a San Francisco-San Mateo hotel market that had the fastest revenue-growth rate in the country last year. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the San Francisco-San Mateo market jumped 20% in 2011, compared to the 9.2% growth rate for the largest 25 U.S. markets, according to Smith Travel Research.