Apr. 13--Having already spread its fledgling wings across the United States, the young hospitality division of CNL Financial Group is now making its presence felt in Orlando. 

CNL Hospitality Corp. recently opened its first three area hotels, has another in the works and is setting its sights much higher, with a desire to build a top-flight hotel near the Orange County Convention Center. 

Like every other hotel company, CNL sees the Orlando market as a place where it needs to be. 

That was the plan four years ago, when the Walt Disney Co. approached CNL about a chunk of land at Little Lake Bryan in south Orange County. 

The deal helped kick off the hospitality division in early 1997. But it would take four long years of negotiations and planning by the companies before the three hotels -- collectively called Marriott Village at Little Lake Bryan -- could open late last year. 

By that time, CNL Hospitality already had collected a stable of two dozen hotels, starting with a pair of small properties in Atlanta. 

The division has grown rapidly since then by building or buying new hotels and then turning them over to someone else to manage. 

"That's best left to the professionals in that business," said Charles Muller, the division's chief operating officer. "We are trying to align ourselves with some of what we consider the top operations." 

For the larger hotel chains, such as Marriott International, a company like the Orlando-based CNL is a blessing of sorts, particularly during a time when many developers are having trouble persuading lenders to back new hotels. 

By working with CNL, a hotel chain can add new hotels to its offerings without having to invest its own money. It is a practice that has become very common in recent years. 

"It allows them not to tie up their capital in real estate," said David Theophilus, an Orlando-based hotel consultant. "They get to be the operators, which is what they want to do." 

Already, CNL Hospitality has forged several deals with Marriott, including one that will give the company its fourth Orlando hotel, a 350-room Residence Inn next to the Horizons by Marriott time-share resort near SeaWorld, opening in early 2002. 

"They've had a tremendous amount of success in raising capital," Arne Sorenson, Marriott's chief financial officer, said of CNL. "And they've got a similar strategy to ours: Leading hotels in leading markets." 

The division now represents nearly a quarter of CNL Financial Group's $4 billion worth of assets, which include 2,700 real estate properties in 48 states. 

The hospitality division includes 30 hotels, with three more under construction in 17 states, including California, Arizona, Texas, Maine and Georgia. The jewel of the division is in Phoenix, where the luxury 950-room Marriott's Desert Ridge Resort is expected to open in early 2003. 

The portfolio is valued at $950 million and is expected to grow substantially during the next few years. CNL would like to buy or build 18 more hotels this year, but has no specific target for the years beyond that. 

It is likely that some of that growth -- exactly what form it will take has not been decided -- will occur in Orlando, though the company's diversification strategy demands that its hotels be spread across a wide range of markets. 

In particular, CNL is interested in building one of the hotels planned around the Orange County Convention Center expansion site. Both Hilton Hotels and Hyatt Hotels & Resorts have purchased adjacent land for convention hotels but have not said whether they plan to build themselves or look for partners. 

"We'll look to see if there might be an opportunity to get involved," Muller said. 

CNL FINANCIAL GROUP 

Headquarters: CNL Center at City Commons, downtown Orlando 

Chairman: James Seneff Jr. 

Founded: 1973. 

Assets: CNL has $4 billion in assets, in 2,700 properties in 48 states. The hospitality division represents $950 million of those assets. 

Business: CNL Financial Group is a privately held real-estate investment and finance company. The company and its affiliates are involved in hospitality, health care, corporate facilities, community development, retail and restaurants. The 4-year-old hospitality division just opened three area hotels, has another under way and is eyeing a fifth. 

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(c) 2001. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. MAR, HLT,