Freeport, IL, November 19, 2012: Swift Hospitality Group, Inc. (SHG) based in Freeport, Illinois, started the 4th quarter of FY 2012 strong, breaking ground for two new upscale properties that will bring new asset-class hotels to Springfield, Illinois and Rapid City, South Dakota. These additions bring the Swift portfolio of properties owned or managed to 13 locations in three Midwestern states.

The Springfield property will be the city’s first Country Inn & Suites by Carlson^SM and the first Generation 4 Prototype Country Inn & Suites by Carlson^SM to be built in the United States.

The property in Rapid City will be South Dakota’s first MainStay Suites hotel, and will share an outdoor patio and parking with Cambria Suites, another SHG property.

“We are proud to be bringing these upscale properties to these communities,” said David Swift, SHG President and CEO. “Swift Hospitality Group focuses on finding and developing the best hospitality property for each community we enter, and we’re pleased to have the chance to work with two highly regarded international brands; the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group in Springfield and with Choice Hotels International
Inc. in Rapid City.”

“Swift Hospitality Group is a small, family-owned and operated company, and we are extremely proud to be breaking ground on two properties this quarter, with more projects planned for 2013,” Swift said. “In today’s banking environment, it’s not common to see companies – even much larger companies than SHG – working on projects of this size simultaneously.”

SHG’s dedication to quality and service guides the company as it manages a portfolio of more than $154 million in hotels. Swift Hospitality Group was named to Hotel Management’s Top Hotel Companies 2012 and has been named to the Hotel Business Top 100 Owners and Developers list each year since 2009.

About Swift Hospitality Group
A family business, Swift Hospitality Group is dedicated to the development and management of select hospitality properties across the country. Striving for excellence in all endeavors, the group focuses on teaming with its partners to create opportunities, invest wisely, and turn multifaceted ideas into profitable projects with strong reputations for quality and service. Swift Hospitality Group manages a portfolio of over $154 million in hotels, either open, under construction, or in various stages of development in many locations throughout the United States including Illinois, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. Whether as owners, franchisees, developers, or as a management company, they have crafted a distinctive corporate infrastructure to support their growing business and have created a culture of relationship-based success. Swift Hospitality Group owns and/or manages the following properties:

• Cambria Suites by Choice Hotels, Appleton, Wisconsin
• Cambria Suites by Choice Hotels, Rapid City, South Dakota
• Comfort Inn & Suites by Choice Hotels, Fulton, Illinois
• Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Elk Grove Village, Illinois
• Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Freeport, Illinois
• Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Galena, Illinois
• Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Green Bay East and Conference Center, Green Bay, Wisconsin
• Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Madison Southwest, Madison, Wisconsin
• Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Rock Falls, Illinois
• Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Zion, Illinois
• Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Springfield, Illinois (under construction)
• MainStay Suites by Choice Hotels, Rapid City, South Dakota (under construction)
• Radisson Hotel & Conference Center, Normal, Illinois (under development)

About Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group – born in early 2012 – is one of the world’s largest and most dynamic hotel groups. The portfolio of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group includes more than 1,300 hotels, a global footprint spanning 81 countries and territories, a powerful set of global brands (Radisson Blu, Radisson®, Park Plaza®, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson^SM and Hotel Missoni). In most of the group’s hotels, guests can benefit from the loyalty program Club Carlson^SM, one of the most rewarding loyalty programs in the world. The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and its brands employ more than 80,000 people. Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., and Brussels, Belgium. www.carlsonrezidor.com.

About Choice Hotels
Choice Hotels International, Inc. franchises approximately 6,200 hotels, representing more than 495,000 rooms, in the United States and more than 30 other countries and territories. As of June 30, 2012, more than 375 hotels were under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development in the United States, representing more than 30,000 rooms, and approximately 75 hotels, representing approximately 6,700 rooms, were under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development in approximately 15 other countries and territories. The company's Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn brands, as well as its Ascend Hotel Collection membership program, serve guests worldwide. Additional corporate information may be found on the Choice Hotels International, Inc. website, which may be accessed at www.choicehotels.com.