Hotel Online Special Report 
The Club at Jones Creek; Augusta, Ga. to be Operated By Doral Golf WASHINGTON – September 7, 1999–MeriStar Hotels Resorts (NYSE: MMH), the nation’s largest independent hotel management company, today announced that they have entered into an agreement with an affiliate of New York-based Blackacre Capital to manage The Club at Jones Creek, an 18-hole championship golf course in Augusta, Georgia. Blackacre Capital is a privately held fund with investments in golf, hotels and timeshare.
“We continue to see significant opportunities to expand our golf management operations, as well as excellent synergies to tie into other MeriStar hotels and resorts throughout the United States,” said Paul Whetsell, MeriStar Hotels Resorts chairman and CEO. “Our Doral golf management unit is having a terrific inaugural year, and bringing The Club at Jones Creek into the portfolio is another positive development. We intend to continue expanding at a deliberate rate, working with both institutional investors and individual owners.”
The Club at Jones Creek is highly regarded by both the local community and golf world at large and has been ranked as one of ‘Georgia’s Top 10 Best Courses’ by Golf Digest and one of the ‘Southeast’s 50 Most Distinctive Courses’ by Golfweek Magazine. “The course offers an exceptional layout in one of the most storied golf communities in the country,” said John Plunket, MeriStar executive vice-president and head of the Doral Division. “Following the renovation and implementation of MeriStar’s operating systems, we foresee a substantial improvement in player satisfaction, resulting in higher revenues and greater profits for the owners.”
The property opened in 1986 as the centerpiece of a 520-acre planned residential community. The 7,098-yard golf course is a Rees Jones-designed, 18-hole, semi-private club located 10 minutes from Augusta National, the annual site of the prestigious Masters golf tournament. The facilities include a 10,000-square-foot clubhouse that encompasses a pro shop, restaurant, lockers, meeting space and a golf school.
A renovation, which already is under way, includes extensive new landscaping to enhance the roughs, upgraded bunkers and tee boxes and new maintenance equipment. Additionally, the clubhouse will undergo renovation to better accommodate a broad spectrum of member usage, both for golf and social events.
MeriStar Hotels Resorts leases or manages 218 hotels with 45,546 rooms in 34 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Including The Club at Jones Creek, MeriStar manages nine golf courses in six states. For more information about MeriStar Hotels Resorts, Inc., visit the company’s web site: www.meristar.com.
The matters in this press release include “forward looking statements” within the meaning of safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are qualified by cautionary statements contained herein and in MeriStar Hotels Resorts’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact An Phung Assistant Treasurer (202) 295-2214 Nicole Watson Director of Corporate Communications (202) 295-2252 Also See: MeriStar Hotels & Resorts Signs Management Contracts in Vermont and Florida / May 1999 Doral Trademark Acuired by MeriStar – John Plunket Named to Head MeriStar’s Doral Division / Jan 1999