Livingston, New Jersey – December 20, 2010 -- Briad Lodging Group based in Livingston, New Jersey, one of the nation’s top-ranked hotel and restaurant developer/owner/operators, has announced that it has broken ground on a 120 room Homewood Suites in Atlantic City/ Egg Harbor, New Jersey.  “Following the recent $164 million sale of our portfolio of 1,100 rooms, comprised of 10 Marriott and Hilton extended-stay and focus-service hotels, we have commenced site work for this new hotel, expecting to open by spring of 2012.  In addition, we have several sites in various stages of the approval process in anticipation of the hotel market rebound.  With a long track record in hotel development, ownership and management, we believe we have a competitive edge in the hotel real estate niche market.  We will keep our focus on premium-branded hotels under such flags as Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt within the same geographic Northeast and Mid Atlantic footprint”, said Steve Scharf, Vice President of Development & Asset Management for The Briad Group.

"Hotel development has slowed somewhat across the country, with financing hard to come by and the economy still sluggish. However, we are still finding great locations," Scharf said.  “Having our own construction affiliate, we are able to build cost effectively and make difficult projects financially feasible.  Construction and land costs both are noticeably lower, helping some projects get off the drawing board.” 

The recently sold Briad Lodging Group hotel portfolio included:

• 113 room Homewood Suites Bethlehem, PA
• 100 room Residence Inn Neptune, NJ
• 113 room Courtyard Wall Township, NJ
• 108 room Residence Inn Mount Laurel, NJ
• 101 room Residence Inn Egg Harbor, NJ
• 120 room Hilton Garden Inn Milford, CT
• 108 room Homewood Suites Dover, NJ
• 101 room Residence Inn Branchburg, NJ
• 108 room Homewood Suites Allentown, PA
• 128 room Spring Hill Suites Yaphank, NY

Total Open and Operating Hotel Rooms: 1,100

About The Briad Group
Briad Lodging Group has been developing extended and select-stay hotels across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region for over a decade. With 23 hotels opened they represented over $400 million of hotel real estate development.  The company has developed properties under the Residence Inn, Courtyard and Spring Hill Suites brands for Marriott; and the Homewood Suites and Hilton Garden Inn brands for Hilton.  Additionally, Briad also owns and operates 70 T.G.I. Friday’s and 42 Wendy’s restaurants across eight states, employing approximately 10,000 people.