Two local investors and the Chickasaw Nation tribe are joining forces to buy the historic Skirvin Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City.
Steve Lackmeyer of The Oklahoman newspaper reported Andy Burnett and Mark Beffort of Oklahoma City, who own eight other hotels across the country, will pay $32.5 million for the city’s oldest hotel.
Other investors in the deal include Sovereign Properties Holdco., a business entity of the Chickasaw Nation, and other local investors. The Skirvin had been owned by Milwaukee-based Marcus Hotels and Resorts since 2007.
“Prior to the pandemic, the Skirvin performed well, and it has returned to a relatively strong occupancy rate in 2022,” Beffort said. “We are honored to be trusted caring for one of Oklahoma City’s finest historical assets.” […]
“The Skirvin Hilton is one of Oklahoma City’s most beloved historic places as many residents and visitors know its storied past and have followed its revitalization and reopening in 2007,” said Bill Anoatubby, governor of the Chickasaw Nation. “We believe our investment fits hand-in-glove with our OKANA project just east of downtown.”
Matthew Benjamin, Beffort and Burnett’s operating partner, said the new owners will continue to showcase the history of the hotel, which over the decades has hosted presidents and Hollywood royalty.
“We’re very passionate about leaning into the history of the assets,” Benjamin said. “And this is what makes the Skirvin the Skirvin.”
The previous owners of the hotel announced in September they were putting it up for sale.
Built in 1911, the Skirvin contained 225 rooms in a 10-story. two-winged tower. A third 12-story wing was added in 1925. In 1929-30, all three wings were leveled to 14 floors with a total of 525 rooms. The hotel is named for its founder, oilman William Balser “Bill” Skirvin.
The Skirvin was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The hotel reportedly is haunted, especially Room 1015. Such reports have come from NBA teams in town staying there to play the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Skirvin was Oklahoma City’s oldest hotel when it initially closed in 1988. After more than a decade, the city bought the property and sought a developer for it. The city eventually provided $22 million in incentives.
It took almost 20 years of financial finagling and millions in renovations, but the Skirvin reopened in 2007.
According to an earlier article in The Oklahoman, downtown Oklahoma City once had just one hotel. Now the district has 19. Multiple celebrities have stayed at the Skirvin in recent years, including Paul McCartney on his now-famous Route 66 trip with future wife Nancy Shevell.
The Skirvin is about two miles south of NW 23rd Street alignment of Route 66 in Oklahoma City.
(Image of the Skirvin Hilton hotel in Oklahoma City by Rusty Blazenhoff via Flickr)