Two Oxnard hotels — Residence Inn by Marriott and Courtyard by Marriott — are under a new management.

Owner DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners has replaced Windsor Capital Group Inc. of Santa Monica with Lighthouse Lodging Group Inc. of Pacific Palisades.

In addition, the Residence Inn is expected to receive $4.8 million in improvements beginning in November, including new kitchens for the suites, according to public records and a hotel official.

It is unclear why the management company was changed last month. A spokesperson for the owner could not be reached, and Lighthouse officials declined to comment.

The general managers at both hotels said they did not know the reason.

"That's an ownership decision," said Courtyard General manager Patrick Mullin, who stressed that the same staff was in place and the transition was seamless.

Because of the change, Mullin said the entire staffs of both hotels will be released and rehired Friday as a paperwork procedure.

Public records show that 100 employees at the Residence Inn and 98 employees at the Courtyard are technically being "laid off."

Two weeks ago, David Dreher was hired as general manager of Residence Inn. Dreher said the position was available because the prior management company did not have a general manager on staff.

Dreher said it is common in the hotel industry to let an entire work force go and then rehire them.

"I don't believe there was any change to wage structure or anything, and employees were retained," he said.

Generally speaking, Oxnard labor lawyer Karen Gabler said such a situation is common "when there's a transfer of ownership or transfer of control of an organization to want a bright line division between the new ownership and prior ownership for liability purposes."

DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners is responsible for Credit Suisse's global real estate private equity business.

The Residence Inn and Courtyard are two of six California and Oregon hotels in the DLJ West Coast Hotel Portfolio, which was set up last summer when the properties were purchased for more than $160 million. The two Oxnard hotels sold for $75,000 per room, according to public filings by the previous owner, Sunstone Hotel Properties Inc.

There are 252 suites at the Residence Inn and 166 rooms at the Courtyard.