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WASHINGTON - Jan. 5, 1999-- MeriStar Hotels Resorts, Inc.
(NYSE: MMH), the nation's largest independent, non-branded hotel management
company, today announced that it has acquired the worldwide rights to the
Doral trademark, one of the most recognized names in golf, from Doral Hotel
Management Corporation. The registered trademark currently is used
in the golf, resort hotel and executive conference center segments of the hospitality industry. The company also announced that it has formed a new business unit, the Doral Division, headed by John Plunket, who currently is MeriStar Hotels Resorts executive vice president of finance and development. The division initially will focus on further developing the Doral brand within its established niches of golf, executive conference centers and resorts and on managing high-end, daily fee golf courses. The Doral Division will actively consider upscale golf courses, resorts
and conference centers for branding under the Doral name in conjunction
with management by MeriStar Hotels Resorts. The company also is exploring
extension of the Doral brand into timeshare/vacation
The Doral Arrowwood, located in Westchester County, N.Y., will retain the Doral name. The Doral Golf Resort Spa in Miami, Fla., which is owned and operated by KSL Recreation, is not part of this transaction. "Doral is a strategic acquisition in line with our growth strategy," said Paul W. Whetsell, MeriStar Hotels Resorts chairman and CEO. "An upscale niche brand will support and extend our core hotel, resort and conference center management operations, while creating an exciting new avenue of growth into golf and vacation ownership. The Doral Division will be our focal point for developing business lines outside our traditional hotel and resort portfolios." The Doral name is recognized worldwide as one of the most distinguished
luxury golf, conference center and resort names. Whetsell stressed that
neither MeriStar Hotels Resorts nor MeriStar Hospitality had any
plans to expand the Doral brand outside of the
MeriStar Hotels Resorts will aggressively seek additional golf
management contracts and branding
opportunities and already has a substantial pipeline of potential transactions.
Neither the company nor MeriStar Hospitality intends to be a primary investor
in golf
Plunket pointed out that golf is a highly fragmented industry with very
few companies managing 10 or more golf courses. In the U.S. alone, there
are more than 16,000 courses, and approximately 300 new courses currently
are being built each year. "Despite this growth,
The Doral Division's senior management will have more than 50 years experience in golf, timeshare and development/acquisitions, making it one of the most in-depth teams in the industry. Joining the division will be Bruce Blum, formerly chief executive officer of Doral Hotels Resorts. Blum has been named senior vice president of MeriStar Hotels Resorts. He will be responsible for establishing Doral brand standards, reflagging appropriate MeriStar Hotel Resorts-managed properties and overseeing international marketing activities. Jeffrey Witt, previously President of Premier Golf, a golf course management
company, was named senior vice president of MeriStar Hotels Resorts. He
will be responsible for day-to-day management of all MeriStar Hotels
Resorts-managed golf courses. Working with Plunket,
Robert Taylor, former chairman of South Seas Resorts, which was recently acquired by MeriStar Hospitality, will play an active advisory role in the new Doral division in resort condominium and vacation ownership efforts. Washington, D.C.-based MeriStar Hospitality Corporation owns 117 principally
upscale, full-service hotels in major market and resort locations with
29,337 rooms in 27 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. The company
owns hotels under such internationally known
MeriStar Hotels Resorts leases or manages 215 hotels with 45,191
rooms in 34 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and the U.S. Virgin
Islands. For more information about MeriStar Hospitality Corporation and
MeriStar Hotels Resorts, Inc., visit the companies'
The matters in this press release include "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are qualified by cautionary statements contained herein and in MeriStar Hospitality's and MeriStar Hotels Resorts' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
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Also See: | Robert Karch Appointed Executive Vice-President of Operations Hotels at Meristar / Sept 1998 |
Newsmaker Interview: MeriStar's Paul Whetsell / Robert Nozar / July 1998 |