ARLINGTON, Va., June 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Interstate Hotels &
Resorts (NYSE: IHR), a leading hotel real estate investor and the nation's
largest independent operator of full- and select-service hotels, today
announced that it opened and will operate the first aloftsm hotel in the U.S.,
in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., near Ontario. The 136-room, newly built hotel is
owned by a joint venture in which Interstate and The John Buck Company (TJBC)
of Chicago, Ill., a real estate development firm, are partners.
It is the first in a series of aloft hotels slated for development by the
partnership over the next several years, with the second scheduled to open in
suburban Nashville this September. TJBC oversees development of the hotels
for the partnership.
aloft is Starwood Hotels & Resorts' new premium, select-service hotel
brand designed to appeal to a new generation of business and leisure
travelers, featuring high design at an affordable price point, accessible
technology, style and a social atmosphere.
"The aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga is part of our growth strategy to
develop hotels through joint ventures, which creates significant embedded
growth as we ramp them up," said Thomas F. Hewitt, Interstate's chief
executive officer. "As the world's largest third-party management company, we
are honored to be opening the first aloft in the United States and to add this
exciting new brand to our management/joint ventures portfolio. We're
confident that we can deliver the same kind of superior service and memorable
guest experience that have earned us consistently superior guest satisfaction
scores and RevPAR results."
"aloft is a much anticipated brand that we believe will change the face of
the premium, select-service sector, and we are delighted to be introducing it
in the U.S.," said Paul Novak, TJBC's managing director, hospitality division.
"Our second aloft in Cool Springs outside of Nashville is on schedule for a
September opening, and we have additional aloft hotels at various stages in
the development pipeline. We continue to look for other opportunities for
this cutting-edge brand."
Located off Highway 10, at the northwest corner of 4th Avenue and Haven,
the 136-room aloft is part of a $60 million master-planned, mixed-use
development called HavenPark, near Ontario Airport and the Ontario Convention
Center. The just completed development features 150,000 square feet of Class
A office space, 22,000 square feet of retail space, a free-standing,
full-service restaurant and the aloft hotel.
"The aloft development partnership is a continuation of our joint venture
growth strategy that allows us to benefit from the advantages of real estate
ownership," said Leslie Ng, chief investment officer of Interstate. "We
expect this brand to quickly gain broad market acceptance and achieve strong
operating margins. We further believe that the aloft brand will be a
significant addition to this competitive sector of our industry."
About aloft
An instant hit in the development community, the first aloft hotels are
scheduled to open in summer 2008. The aloft brand has already announced more
than 90 development projects, in more than 10 countries. In 2009, the aloft
brand will continue its momentum with the opening of more than 50 hotels
broadening the international footprint and domestically positioning aloft
hotels in markets previously under penetrated. Following the U.S. debut of
this aloft hotel in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., several others are scheduled to
open shortly in Chicago O'Hare, Ill., Minneapolis, Minn., Philadelphia
Airport, Pa., Lexington, Mass., Rogers-Bentonville, Ark., as well as Beijing,
China. Scheduled to open in 2009 are aloft Brooklyn, N.Y., Denver
International Airport, Col., Dallas, Texas, Atlanta, Ga., Las Vegas, Nev. and
Toronto, Canada. For more information on aloft hotels, visit
www.alofthotels.com.
About The John Buck Company
Founded in 1981, The John Buck Company offers comprehensive real estate
services in the areas of development, finance, investment brokerage, project
leasing, tenant representation, marketing and management, as well as
construction for commercial, mixed-use and residential properties. The
international, employee-owned firm is headquartered in Chicago. For
additional information on The John Buck Company, please visit the company's
website at www.TJBC.com.
About Interstate Hotels & Resorts
As of today, Interstate Hotels & Resorts has ownership interests in 55
hotels and resorts, including seven wholly owned assets. Together with these
properties, the company and its affiliates manage a total of 220 hospitality
properties with over 45,500 rooms in 36 states, the District of Columbia,
Russia, Mexico, Belgium, Canada, and Ireland. In addition, Interstate Hotels
& Resorts also has contracts to manage 16 to be built hospitality properties
with approximately 3,800 rooms. For more information about Interstate Hotels
& Resorts, visit the company's Web site: www.ihrco.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements," within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, about
Interstate Hotels & Resorts, including those statements regarding future
operating results and the timing and composition of revenues, among others,
and statements containing words such as "expects," "believes" or "will," which
indicate that those statements are forward-looking. Except for historical
information, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking
statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could
cause the actual results to differ materially, including the volatility of the
national economy, economic conditions generally and the hotel and real estate
markets specifically, the war in Iraq, international and geopolitical
difficulties or health concerns, governmental actions, legislative and
regulatory changes, availability of debt and equity capital, interest rates,
competition, weather conditions or natural disasters, supply and demand for
lodging facilities in our current and proposed market areas, and the company's
ability to manage integration and growth. Additional risks are discussed in
Interstate Hotels & Resorts' filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including Interstate Hotels & Resorts' annual report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2007.
Contact:
Carrie McIntyre
SVP, Treasurer, Interstate
(703) 387-3320
Paul Novak
Managing Director, The John Buck Company
pnovak@tjbc.com
SOURCE Interstate Hotels & Resorts