Mitch Miller, far right, moderates a panel with Teague Hunter, Josh Loftus, Dan Beider, Bill Hanley, Adam McGaughy, and Roland Schick.

With cash-flush buyers increasingly coming off the sidelines, hotels are increasingly trading hands, but the market remains extremely lumpy, according to a panel during Lodging Hospitality’sfourth annual Midwest Lodging Investors Summit at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place.

There’s no shortage of bidders for large Class-A assets, the healthiest part of the market. And more distressed deals are taking place. But there’s a hole in the market. Deals in the $3 million to $15 million range are much more difficult to close.

The driving factor in deal activity is the debt side of the equation.

Bidders for large Class-A assets tend to be REITs and private funds —investors that either have lots of cash on hand or ample access to credit markets. These are also the kinds of opportunities that lenders of all types are willing to finance.

CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH JONES LANG LASALLE'S  ADAM McGAUGHY ON THE ROLE REITS ARE PLAYING IN HOTEL INVESTMENT.

Distressed deals, especially for smaller assets that can be had for $3 million or less, are also getting done as all-cash deals. But deals in the $3 million to $15 million range are not happening largely because lenders are conservative in funding such deals, according to Teague Hunter, president of Atlanta-based Hunter Hotels.

Read the rest of the story at National Real Estate Investor.