ALIS Recognizez 2005 Outstanding Hotel Industry Achievements

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. October 14, 2008

Washington, Jan. 24, 2006 - Winners of the ALIS Awards were announced today during the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles, Calif. Co-hosted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA)and Burba Hotel Network (BHN), the ALIS awards are presented for outstanding performance in four categories.

The St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco, Calif. received the award for the Development category. The hotel opened in November 2005 at the cost of $250 million by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Carpenter and Company of Boston, and F.E. Jordan Associates. The 260-room luxury property has design elements that reflect a contemporary style and boasts the finest interior finishes. The St. Regis Hotel is located in San Francisco's most exciting and revitalized neighborhood, Yerba Buena.

The Blackstone Group's acquisition of Wyndham International for $3.24 billion was chosen as the outstanding transaction in the Merger & Acquisition category. Wyndham International operates 32 owned and leased hotels and resorts worldwide and has 39,024 total rooms. Considered one of the largest private equity funds focused on the lodging industry, The Blackstone Group created a new luxury brand with some Wyndham assets and subsequently sold the Wyndham name and its franchise business to Cendant. This transaction is interesting due to Wyndham's large size and international brand.

The Dubai Investment Group and Oxford Lodging Group's aquisition of the 605-room Jumeirah Essex House for $440 million from SHCLLC II received the award in the Single Asset Transaction category. The sale of this world-class hotel received enormous support from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Local 6 Union. The asset was preemptively purchased during a highly competitive investment sales process.

The Jack A. Shaffer Financial Advisor award was presented to Mark W. Elliott, senior managing director of Hodges Ward Elliott. He was the top producing hotel investment and sales broker in the country in 2005, having completed sales and financing assignment in over 50 hotels, representing total transaction volume in excess of $2 billion. Elliott is able to effectively reconcile the disparate needs and desires of parties on both sides of a transaction, resulting in the achievement of mutually satisfactory outcomes.

In addition, Michael D. Eisner, past chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company received this year's ALIS Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his accomplishments in the lodging industry as well as for his substantial contributions to the community. Also, Hasmukh (H.P.) Rama, chairman and CEO of JHM Hotels and former AH&LA Chairman will be presented with this year's ISHC Pioneer Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions, vision, achievements, and improvements to the hospitality industry.

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AH&LA is a 96-year-old association of lodging properties and companies throughout the United States. Members are represented by AH&LA at the national level as well as by our partner state associations, which provide many additional cost-saving benefits. With some 10,000 members in the United States and internationally, AH&LA represents more than 1.3 million guest rooms. As the voice of the industry ensuring a positive business climate for hoteliers, AH&LA provides advocacy on Capitol Hill,

education, marketing, information, and bottom-line benefits.

BHN brings together more than two decades of experience developing and organizing the world's most prominent gatherings of the hotel and tourism investment community. At these events (over 50 conferences completed and/or in development), the investment community has come together to network, conduct business and learn about the latest industry trends. They have become "must attend" events for those interested in investing in hospitality real estate. The BHN Web site at www.BURBA.com, is the gateway for information about the conferences BHN produces, as well as providing a direct link to important players in the hospitality investment world, including lenders, brokers, architects, designers and hotel industry-related organizations.