Paramount Appoints Douglas W. Vicari as Principal of Firm

Will be Responsible for Company's Capital-raising Program

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. January 14, 2009

FAIRFIELD, NJ, January 14, 2009 - Paramount Hotel Group, an independent hotel management and ownership group, today announced that Douglas W. Vicari has joined the company as a principal. Vicari will be responsible for the firm's capital-raising efforts, as well as advising on its strategic direction and assisting in its acquisition programs.

Vicari previously was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Highland Hospitality Corporation, a NYSE-listed lodging real estate investment trust (REIT) that was sold to JER Partners in July 2007. Prior to that, he served as senior vice president and chief financial officer and on the board of directors of Prime Hospitality Corp., an NYSE-listed lodging company.

"Doug is a well-respected executive within the lodging community and has strong relationships with the investment and finance community," said Ethan Kramer, Paramount's president. "As a company, we are both an owner and third-party hotel operator, which puts us in a unique position in these economically challenging times because we can offer the full range of services.

"We believe there will be a substantial number of acquisition opportunities as the year progresses," he said. "Doug will play a pivotal role in securing capital for acquisitions, both wholly owned and joint venture. Cash will be king in the next 12 to 18 months, and Paramount plans to be a major player.

"In a difficult economy, owners seek experienced operators to maximize their hotels' profitability," he added. "We provide a full range of management services and expect this portion of our business model to also be quite active in 2009. We will continue to concentrate our acquisition and third-party management efforts in our core strengths of premium-branded, focused-service and full-service hotels."

Currently, Vicari serves on the board of directors and as the chairman of the Audit Committee for Thunderbird Resorts Inc., a publicly traded gaming and lodging company (NYSE Euronext: TBIRD).