London, July 28th 2003.  Summit Hotels & Resorts, the luxury international hotel group, has signed exclusive agreements with eight new hotels:

• The Grand Hotel Emerald in St Petersburg
• The Hotel Mirage in Kazan, Russia
• The Hotel Makedonia Palace in Thessaloniki, Greece
• The Hotel Athens Acropol in Greece
• The Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo, Japan
• The Grand Hotel Barriere and Hotel Du Lac in Enghien-les-Bains, France
• The San Carlos Hotel in New York
• The Sunscape Punta Cana Grand in the Dominican Republic.

The signing of the Grand Hotel Barriere and Hotel Du Lac further increases Summit Hotels & Resorts� presence in the French market to a total of nine hotels.  The hotel is situated just 20 minutes from Paris.  The addition of the San Carlos Hotel in New York and the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo brings Summit Hotels & Resorts� representation in each city to three and five respectively.

Richard Lewis, Managing Director of Summit Hotels & Resorts, said: �As we know from research that we have undertaken, today�s traveller looks for experiences not similarity. All our hotels are �individual� and offer guests a unique experience.  As such, each is a perfect fit with our brand.�

Under the agreements signed, each hotel will gain access to Summit Hotels & Resorts� global sales network and reservation systems and will benefit from the group�s marketing and brand building activities.

Summit Hotels & Resorts is a collection of over 145 privately owned and managed luxury hotels located in more than 100 city centres and resorts worldwide. Each individual Summit hotel member has an established reputation as among the world�s finest hotels, reflecting the best of local culture and offering exceptional service and facilities. 

Summit Hotels & Resorts is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicago-based IndeCorp, a privately held, for-profit, shareholder-owned company designed to protect and sustain independent hotel brands in the global market place.