Lodgeworks to Launch Avia Savannah January 2009

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. November 13, 2008

NOVEMBER 12, 2008. With the January opening of AVIA Savannah, LodgeWorks L.P. is stepping into the boutique hotel market with an innovative hospitality concept that puts destination and sense of place, along with uncompromising comfort and service, at the very heart of the guest experience.

LodgeWorks is the Wichita-based hotel development and management company with an outstanding track record for developing upscale suite properties, including the highly respected Sierra Suites brand, now named Hotel Sierra; Residence Inn, now Residence Inn by Marriott and Summerfield Suites, now Hyatt Summerfield Suites. LodgeWorks also has an expanding portfolio of owned and managed branded hotels including Hyatt Summerfield Suites, Hyatt Place, Aloft, Hawthorn Suites, Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton Inn and Suites.

Initially, the AVIA Hotels collection will include four properties: AVIA Savannah, followed by AVIA Napa and AVIA Long Beach opening mid-2009 and AVIA The Woodlands, outside of Houston, opening in autumn 2009. Additional sites are under review but have not been announced. All AVIA properties will be stand-alone, built-from-the-ground-up new hotels, each highly distinctive and unique in character, and supported by the uncompromising standard of comfort and service that has driven LodgeWorks' success. The hotels' underlying inspiration, one that is reflected in everything from architecture and design to restaurant menus and guest activities, is the expression and enjoyment of the particular spirit, energy, traditions and aesthetics that define the individual character of each property's locality.

"We like to call it 'the art of living well on local time,'" said B. Anthony Isaac, president of LodgeWorks. "At AVIA we believe that our guests should immediately feel as if they've been welcomed to the community they're visiting. While living extremely well with us, in absolute comfort, we want them to discover the tastes and traditions that make Savannah unique, to be surprised by the unexpected pleasures of Long Beach, to be astonished by the beauty of Napa and its surroundings or to be charmed by the Southern hospitality of The Woodlands. At AVIA, we are not the destination. We make the destination come alive."

AVIA properties will be 70-160 room upscale hotels that offer sophisticated, independent-minded travelers an incomparable opportunity for discovery. While each is highly different in ambiance, they will all feature an understated, contemporary elegance that is infused with local character and flexible and elegant facilities for small to mid-sized conferences and special events. Another AVIA signature is an innovative dining concept consisting of the AVIA Kitchen, a truly welcoming and relaxed chef's kitchen environment specializing in small dishes and tastings that showcase local and regional culinary traditions and fresh produce; a refreshment bar featuring Dean & DeLuca products; and the Wine Bar, offering an eclectic and surprising selection of small production wines from California and the Northwest and interesting, often daring, microbrew beers.

AVIA evolved from LodgeWorks management's recognition that it had exciting opportunities in several key urban and leisure destinations to take a new approach to hospitality. It would be inspired by the character, culture and energy of each hotel's locality and incorporate LodgeWorks' uncompromising standards for comfort and service carried to a level that discerning, sophisticated travelers eager for discovery would appreciate. Unlike so many other brands in the "boutique hotel" category, AVIA would not be style-centric; rather, a distinctly contemporary, understated elegance would serve to express and enhance each hotel's individual, "location-specific" character. In short, instead of imposing a brand, each "new from the ground up" AVIA hotel would evolve organically, a harmonious blend of LodgeWorks' hospitality philosophy with local values, spirit and tastes.

For almost two years, LodgeWorks executives met with local tastemakers and community leaders in prospective AVIA locales. "We started with our own experience and values, namely a sincere desire to provide hospitality, to host our guests with authentic warmth and welcome, and discovered that we had partners in each locality who shared our vision. They were unanimous in welcoming a new hotel that would help define what made their community unique while providing an outstanding hospitality experience," said Cheryl A. Doll, LodgeWorks' vice president, brands and marketing.

Armed with valuable input and eager involvement from local tastemakers, LodgeWorks recruited several noted hospitality industry specialists to help develop AVIA. These included designers Colum McCartan, who designed Hotel Vitale and Hotel Adagio in San Francisco, Le Parker Meridien in New York and has helped establish the design essence of the hotels; Heller-Manus of San Francisco; J. Webb Design & Associates of Kansas City; and Krehbiel Architecture and Law/Kingdon, Inc. in Wichita.

LodgeWorks also worked with the Chicago-based brand experience consultancy Phillips+Co. to help evolve the AVIA name and hospitality experience; food and beverage expert Paul Keeler, and Adam Ghali, who is noted for his work with such brands as The Ritz-Carlton; and Dean & DeLuca, purveyors of fine food, wine and kitchenware. Together, these experts have led the process of bringing local character and flair to the AVIA culinary experience.

Further enhancing the distinctive guest experience at each AVIA property will be such amenities as bell service and valet parking, turndown service, convenient in-room technology, fine linens, roomy bathrooms with walk-in showers and more.

AVIA Savannah is scheduled to open January, 2009, followed by the Napa and Long Beach hotels next summer and The Woodlands in the fall. For further information about AVIA Hotels, please visit www.aviahotels.com.