McCaslin Forms EAC Hospitality

Firm to Specialize in Hotel Asset Management, Hotel Investment

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. October 14, 2008

MAY 31, 2007. Veteran hotelier, David McCaslin, today announced the formation of EAC Hospitality, LLC, which will specialize in hotel asset management and hotel investment. The firm's current client roster includes Rockwood Capital, Stockbridge Capital Partners and True North Investors.

"We're bringing what we believe is a new perspective to asset management in the hotel industry," said McCaslin, president of EAC Hospitality. "Up until now, the focus of many asset managers has been on generating reports, reports that were based on the past rather than looking towards the future. We approach our assignments from a different perspective.

"We call on more than 30 years of operations experience to find new ways to improve both the top and bottom line of our owners' properties," he pointed out. "Specifically, we use our operating experience to help both the owner and the operator understand how to execute a hotel's strategy in a real-time environment. We use our investment background to help operators, franchisors and investors better understand how to achieve the highest returns on their invested capital. I have been operationally involved in more than 300 hotels, free-standing restaurants, spas, golf courses, ski resorts, conference centers, corporate housing, condo projects and associated real estate, such as office and tenant leases. In addition, I've been involved in raising more than $3 billion in both debt and equity capital."

The firm will offer four primary services:

o Advisory Services-The firm will undertake short-term consultancy roles, as well as long-term asset management assignments where EAC can provide value enhancement. Specific activities include working with operations teams to maximize hotel operations, reviewing all strategic operations and seeking additional value opportunities. In addition, the firm performs due diligence on acquisition candidates, prepares hold/investment strategies and identifies optimum exit strategies.

EAC Hospitality also will take on short-term assignments such as situational analysis to identify issues for underperforming assets. The firm also performs organization reviews to help prepare organizations for growth or transition.

"We can perform the traditional asset manager's oversight role, but we can add the most value by advising in situations where we can help align the interests of all involved parties," he noted. "Bringing all the parties together to achieve a mutually rewarding goal is our primary mission."

o Investment-EAC Hospitality will invest its own capital alongside other capital partners in situations where the firm has an ongoing influence that impacts the investment's financial outcome. "I've invested in nearly 200 hospitality assets in my career," he noted. "Our primary investment focus is on situations where entrepreneurial hotel managers co-invest and their goals are aligned with the goals of the business unit's primary investor. We are particularly attracted to more complex transactions where the value creation is transforming the product or through operational or asset management expertise. We have just entered into our first co-investment project, an upscale, full-service hotel in northern New Jersey, and are looking at several more."

o Entrepreneurship-"There are a significant number of experienced general managers and executive committee team members with entrepreneurial spirit who seek opportunities to invest both capital and their expertise to own a piece of one or more hotels," McCaslin said. "We believe pairing these entrepreneurs with capital sources will generate higher returns because both parties are perfectly aligned. We have identified more than 20 highly qualified, hotel property-level entrepreneurial executives."

o Deal Sourcing-EAC Hospitality has significant relationships within the hotel industry and can identify both portfolios and individual properties that typically are not widely marketed. "There are a number of owners who do not wish to expose their properties to the often disruptive marketing activities that frequently occur when a hotel is placed on the open market," he said. "We will work with institutional investors with defined investment objectives to source hotels that best meet those criteria."