"Ken and I are extremely gratified that shareholders not only voted for a strategy that promised a renewed focus on shareholder value and operating performance, but also independent Board members that would aggressively review and question management decisions," said Belmonte.  "I am disappointed in Mike Holtz's decision to resign as President and CEO and had hoped that he would be receptive to change, particularly considering today's heightened sensitivity in the area of corporate governance.  We believe strongly that one of the primary functions of a corporation's Board of Directors is to set company strategy and hold management accountable, which was inhibited at Arlington because its Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mike Holtz, was also the President and CEO of the company."

The proxy battle was initiated by the "Committee to Enhance Shareholder Value," which nominated Belmonte and Fell to lead changes at Arlington Hospitality.  The committee was formed to address several company failings such as poor stock performance, failure to maximize shareholder value, perceived poor corporate governance and other apparent deficiencies in Arlington's structure and performance.  Over the last several years, Arlington's stock declined nearly 66 percent.  From the time the proxy battle began to the election of Belmonte and Fell, the company's stock price increased substantially.  After the election and following the annual meeting, Holtz resigned from the company and several large shareholders approached Belmonte as a potential successor. 

"I would be honored to take the helm of a company that has such tremendous upside and the prospect of moving back to my hometown of Chicago is indeed intriguing," said Belmonte.  "However, we have created a search committee to find the most qualified person for the job and while I feel privileged to be considered, it is important that I work within the overall search process.  Moreover, the lion share of the credit for having the initiative and vision for positive change at Arlington must go to its co-founders Andy Torchia and Richard D'Onofrio as well as active shareholders like Ken Fell and Larry Sipkin and Lawrence Benenson of New York based Benenson Capital.  These gentlemen are off-the-charts bright and totally committed to increasing shareholder value."

"Arlington should point its search-light on Belmonte and stop it right there," said Lee Dushoff, hotel industry consultant and Managing Partner of Hotel Partners.  "Arlington's greatest resource is its agreement with Cendant, and Belmonte's successful 10-year tenure at Cendant puts him in the perfect position to maximize that agreement to the benefit of both companies.  There is no doubt that he will be the catalyst to spur growth and profits." 

Belmonte, with over 30 years of hotel industry experience is currently the President and CEO of Hospitality Solutions, a full-service, nationwide consultation firm specializing in lodging industry issues at the hotel and corporate level. Prior to Hospitality Solutions, for nearly 11 years Belmonte oversaw the Ramada hotel chain, which had over 1,000 hotels and nearly 135,000 hotel rooms throughout the United States.  He is also currently the Vice Chairman of the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation.

"Regardless of who is President of Arlington, I feel strongly that we can remedy Arlington's woes and significantly increase growth of the Amerihost Inn brand and shareholder value in short notice," added Belmonte.  "While Mr.  Holtz contended that our election to the Board would result in a fire-sale and staff reduction, nothing could be further from the truth.  I believe that Arlington's greatest asset is its people and I was very impressed by the high level of employee dedication and expertise." 

Belmonte feels confident that Arlington's agreement with Cendant, which bought the Amerihost Inn and Amerihost Inn & Suites brand names from Arlington in 2000, is another key to the company's future success.  Besides receiving an ongoing royalty stream and payment on the sale of hotels franchised with Cendant, Arlington is also a preferred client further poising the company for aggressive growth and profitability. 

"The agreement with Cendant provides significant fees and royalties to Arlington which is currently being under-utilized," said Belmonte.  "Henry Silverman has built the biggest, best and most well-oiled franchise sales machine in the industry and after 10 years working at Cendant, I have developed a great deal of respect and admiration for so many people that still work there.  Indeed, I look forward to working with them again to bring Arlington to new heights of excellence."

Belmonte added, "Amerihost's President and CEO, Keith Pierce, is not only one of the most talented people I know, he is also a close friend.  He has worked with me in the past for several years at Cendant and we have a great history together.  While the current economic climate continues to be tight, the Amerihost product has significantly bucked the trend with many hotel projects coming out of the pipeline.  As it relates to RevPAR, occupancy and other key indices, Amerihost is clearly outpacing its competitive set and industry standards." 

Pierce, who referred to Belmonte as a mentor in a hotel trade publication, also pointed out that an Amerihost is less expensive to build than a Wingate ($10,000 to $14,000 less per room) and falls into the Small Business Administration financing environment making it easier to obtain financing and develop.

Other industry veterans also chimed in on the news of Belmonte being elected to Arlington's Board and his possible selection as President and CEO:

"Steve is the most honest, direct and passionate leaders in the industry today," said Bob Leslie, Owner of the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Fargo, North Dakota.  "I would do an Amerihost deal just because his name is attached to the project."

"As a preferred client of Cendant and owner and operator of several Ramada properties, I had the distinct pleasure of working with Steve Belmonte for many years on Ramada's Board," added Colin Noble, President of Noble Hospitality. 

"When I was Chairman of that Board, we made incredible strides and doubled the size of the Ramada chain.  I would consider developing an Amerihost product just to work with him again."

"Steve Belmonte is one of the most talented and trusted names in the industry and franchisees naturally gravitate to him," said Mike Leven, Chairman, President and CEO of U.S. Franchise Systems.  "He's a pure hotelier and Arlington is lucky to have him." 

Arlington Hospitality, Inc. is a hotel management and development company specializing in mid-priced hotels.  As of August 2002, the company owns or manages 77 properties in 17 states, including 65 Amerihost Inn hotels, for a total of 5,747 rooms, with four additional Amerihost & Suites hotels under construction.