| WASHINGTON, D.C - May 1, 2000 -- MeriStar Hotels
Resorts (NYSE: MMH), the nation�s largest independent hotel management
company, today announced results for the first quarter ended March 31,
2000.
Earnings rose to $2.2 million for the 2000 first quarter, or $0.07 per
share on a diluted basis, $0.01 above consensus analyst expectations. Revenues
for the period increased 4.5 percent to $340.5 million, and earnings before
interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)
for the quarter rose 14 percent to $6.6 million. Same-store average
daily rate (ADR) for full-service, leased hotels increased 4.3 percent
to $112.44, while occupancy declined 0.8 percent to 70.5 percent. RevPAR
for these hotels improved 3.4 percent to $79.31. For all leased hotels,
RevPAR increased 3.0 percent to $73.99, ADR rose 4.2 percent to $105.58
and occupancy declined 1.1 percent to 70.1 percent.
�Our operating team produced solid first quarter results despite weakness
in early January related to millennium travel concerns,� said Paul W. Whetsell,
chairman and chief executive officer. �Year-to-date, we have added six
contracts to our management portfolio, including one through our joint
venture, MeriStar Investment Partners. In addition, we rebranded the Palmas
del Mar in Puerto Rico, one of the Caribbean�s premier golf destinations,
to our Doral flag. Our recently announced investment in the STS Hotel Net
Travel Portal (www.hotelnet.com) positions the company to benefit economically
from technology growth in our industry.�
Whetsell pointed out that the company strengthened its capital structure
during the quarter with the placement of a new $100 million credit facility.
�Our debt structure remains conservative at less than 2.5 times total debt
to EBITDA,� he noted.
�We are expanding our hospitality management base to include corporate
housing with an agreement to purchase BridgeStreet Accommodations, which
has approximately 3,700 corporate housing units in 26 cities in the U.S.,
Canada and the United Kingdom,� said David E. McCaslin, MeriStar Hotels
Resorts president. �We expect to close the transaction by the end of the
second quarter.�
Pro forma operating statistics for hotels
leased:
| Full service hotels: |
Three Months Ended March 31, 2000 |
Three Months Ended March 31,1999 |
| Occupancy |
70.5% |
71.1% |
| ADR |
$112.44 |
$107.84 |
| RevPAR |
$79.31 |
$76.71 |
| RevPAR increase |
|
3.4% |
| All hotels: |
|
|
| Occupancy |
70.1% |
70.9% |
| ADR |
$105.58 |
$101.37 |
| RevPAR |
$73.99 |
$71.86 |
| RevPAR increase |
|
3.0% |
|
The Hotel & Villas
at Palmas del Mar and Club Cala in Puerto Rico to Be Re-Flagged and Named
The Doral Resort at Palmas del Mar
WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 5, 2000 -- MeriStar Hotels & Resorts
(NYSE: MMH), the nation�s largest independent management company, today
announced that it has signed a long-term agreement to manage the Hotel
& Villas at Palmas del Mar and the Club Cala in Puerto Rico. The Palmas
del Mar Resort is one of the Caribbean�s premier golf destinations and
will be renamed The Doral Resort at Palmas del Mar. The property is owned
by Bluewater Ltd., a Florida Limited Partnership and affiliate of the Talon
Group, and is part of a development by MAXXAM Properties, a subsidiary
of publicly traded MAXXAM Inc.
This Doral Resort will be the third newly branded Doral property and
will join Doral Palm Springs in California and Doral Forrestal in Princeton,
New Jersey, as new additions that follow in the award-winning Doral tradition.
The property immediately will undergo a $1.6 million renovation program
to upgrade to Doral standards. An additional $1.7 million in renovations
are planned over the next two years.
Bluewater, Ltd. recently completed an extensive $15 million renovation
to the property.
�The Hotel & Villas at Palmas del Mar are characteristic of the
type of property we are looking to brand with the Doral trademark,� said
Paul W. Whetsell, MeriStar chairman and chief executive officer. �Palmas
del Mar�s Rees Jones and Gary Player designed golf courses are ranked among
the top 10 in the Caribbean and are in keeping with Doral golf excellence.
�The contract expands our presence in the Caribbean and will be the
32nd resort managed by the company,� Whetsell noted. �This marks our third
management contract with a Talon Group affiliate, and adds another first-class
resort to our management portfolio. We will continue to seek other management
opportunities throughout the Caribbean.�
Under the agreement, MeriStar will convert the property to The Doral
Resort at Palmas del Mar in mid-January and will manage the resort�s first-class,
full-service 102-room Candelero Hotel and the newly built, upscale Palmas
Doradas, a 97-key, all-suite hotel condominium pool. The Villas at Palmas
del Mar, which comprise approximately 110 two- and three-bedroom rental
units and the 106-unit Club Cala, a vacation ownership resort, will also
be managed by MeriStar.
�We have been impressed by MeriStar�s strong operating performance at
our St. Thomas and Miami Beach properties and look forward to similar improvements
at the Palmas Del Mar property,� Gilbert J. de Botton, managing director
of the Talon Group, a Stamford, Conn.-based specialty hotel developer noted.
�MeriStar has the unique ability to associate the prestigious Doral
name to Palmas del Mar, and we are pleased to partner with them once again.�
Palmas del Mar is situated on the Caribbean beachfront on the southeastern
coast of Puerto Rico, approximately 30 miles from San Juan. The resort
complex is located within the Palmas del Mar master planned community,
which consists of more than 2,750 acres of land located along approximately
three miles of continuous beachfront. Additionally, the complex includes
two championship golf courses, an upscale members-only club house, a 20-court
tennis club and fitness center, equestrian center, deep water marina, 13
restaurants, a casino, more than 1,400 resident units and the 106-unit
vacation ownership resort.
�The property is well positioned to become a market leader with the
completion of the renovations and upgrading to Doral brand standards,�
said David McCaslin, MeriStar president. �We plan to take advantage of
the synergies and cross-marketing opportunities available to us through
our other managed resorts and golf courses.� |
MeriStar Hotels Resorts operates 235 hospitality and leisure properties
with more than 46,000 rooms and 10 golf courses in 34 states, the District
of Columbia, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This press release contains forward-looking statements about MeriStar
Hotels Resorts, Inc., including those statements regarding future operating
results and the timing and composition of revenues, among others. |
