Photo courtesy of Xenia Hotels & Resorts

A Florida hotel investor is offering for sale a pair of hotel properties in Boston and Cambridge as it seeks to raise cash amid the hotel industry’s severe downturn.

Xenia Hotels & Resorts is seeking to sell the 245-room Hotel Commonwealth in Kenmore Square and the 221-room Residence Inn Boston Cambridge in Kendall Square, according to a report by Real Estate Alert. The properties, marketed by CBRE, could trade for a combined $256.5 million, the publication reported.

The local properties are among five nationwide that the Orlando, Florida REIT is putting on the market to raise cash as the pandemic. Xenia temporarily shut down 31 hotels in March and April, and had 35 hotels in operation at the end of July, representing 83 percent of its room portfolio.

Xenia recently reported second-quarter net loss of $99.1 million and said it had approximately $306 million of liquidity. 

Xenia bought the Hotel Commonwealth in 2015 for $136 million and the Cambridge property in 2005 for $63 million.

Potential sales of four other properties failed to close in the second quarter, Xenia said.

“Although, the overall transaction environment remains challenging, we continue to explore potential dispositions as one avenue to provide additional liquidity, lower our leverage and extend our average debt maturity,” CEO Marcel Verbaas said in a conference call with analysts.

Drastic downturns in business and leisure travel since the mid-March onset of the pandemic have placed unprecedented pressure on hotel owners’ balance sheets. According to a June forecast by CBRE Hotels, Boston hotels’ revenues per available room will decline 64 percent by year-end.