Tampa family-run firm exits hotel business after 45 years

The Liberty Group, a Tampa based investment firm, announced Monday it is has sold six Marriott and Hilton properties across the state, bringing to an end the company’s 45-year run as a hotel operator.

The hotels, the final ones in a portfolio that once spanned 57 properties with more than 5,000 rooms, are in Cape Coral, Tampa, Fort Pierce, Ormond Beach and The Villages. Several sold earlier this year.

Liberty CEO Punit Shah says in the statement announcing the sales that the “transition allows us to be more intentional with both our time and our capital.”

“This is a deeply personal and historic moment for our family,” Shah says. 

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“My father and I are proud of the economic impact and the thousands of jobs we’ve created in the hospitality industry over the last four decades. As we turn the page, our focus now shifts entirely to operating our family office — investing in high-conviction opportunities that reflect our long-term strategic vision and values.”

Raxit Shah bought his first hotel, a 52-room property in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1980 after saving enough money and moving to the U.S. from Canada. According to an undated profile on the University of South Florida’s website, he told students at the Muma School of Business that in the early days he would sometimes work 48 hours at a time with just short naps in between, doing whatever was necessary to make the hotel in run.

“I had a dream to be my own boss,” he said.

Raxit’s son Punit took over Liberty in 2008 and since then the company has invested more than $1 billion in commercial real estate, structured capital and operating companies. Shah is also a co-owner and a partner of the Florida Marlins baseball team.

The company says in the statement that with the sale of the hotels it will now concentrate on managing investment “with an emphasis on capital preservation, strategic partnerships and impact investing.”

Liberty did not disclose sale price of the hotels.

Locally, the Business Observer reported in May that the company sold the 74-room Tampa hotel property at 11740 Tampa Gateway Blvd. for $9.65 million. The buyer is Tampa based KMD Hospitality.

In Lee County, property records have not been updated to reflect the sale of the Hampton by Hilton Cape Coral on S. E. 47th Terrace. Records show Liberty bought it in 2012 for $3.2 million.

As for the others:

• The Hampton Inn Ormond Beach property sold last month for $7.16 million to a Davenport LLC named Kadakia Hospitality, according to Volusia County property records. Liberty paid $5.4 million for it in 2015.
• The Fairfield Inn & Suites in Fort Pierce property sold in January for $7.7 million to a Dania Beach company, according to St. Lucie County property records. Liberty paid $6 million for it in 2015.
• Records have not been updated for the Hampton Inn & Suites in The Villages. Liberty bought the hotel in 2010 for $3.52 million, according to Sumter County property records.
• Sumter records also haven’t been updated for the Home2Suites Hilton in The Villages. Records show Liberty bought the hotel in 2019 for $1.75 million.