Bonaventure faces possible foreclosure.

Bonaventure faces possible foreclosure

The continuing problems in the Los Angeles hotel and tourism industries took another wrong turn last week when Equitable Life Assurance Society said it may foreclosure on the Westin Bonaventure, downtown's largest hotel and a skyline landmark.

New York-based Equitable said the partnership that owns the hotel has failed to make payments on a $75 million loan for the property since November.

There were no immediate indications the 1,500-room hotel is in danger of closing but there was speculation the partnership, led by Mitsubishi Trading Co., a unit of Mitsubishi Corp., is seeking to sell the property.

Equitable filed a legal notice of default against the partnership in June and has until Sept. 24 to file a notice of foreclosure. Thirty days later, Equitable can actually foreclose on the property.

Some industry analysts said the action was a scare tactic by Equitable to speed negotiations with the partnership to reach an agreement on a new payment schedule.

Room occupancy at the Westin, and other downtown hotels, has been in the doldrums for two years because of the recession, the Persian Gulf War, a general slump in travel and the lack of major convention business in Los Angeles.

In June, the local hotel industry's room occupancy downtown was 58.8 percent. The standard break-even point for hotels is 64 percent.