Denver, Colo. � November 4, 2002 � Richfield, a SWAN solution that has been providing practical, profitable hotel management services for more than 30 years, was awarded the management contract for the remaining three Decatur area hotels owned and operated by Real Estate Investors of Decatur LLC, announced Tom Conran, Richfield Managing Director.

In October, the company turned to Richfield to manage its full-service Holiday Inn Select hotel. Based on the immediate success Richfield had with the property, Real Estate Investors of Decatur LLC put its Country Inn & Suites, Ramada Limited and Comfort Inn in Richfield�s hands. Real Estate Investors of Decatur LLC represents more than $125 million in Decatur real-estate holdings.

�When Richfield took over the Holiday Inn Select, they made an immediate impact by reducing our expenses, increasing our marketing visibility, and getting us an audience with Six Continents to pose questions that we never thought a franchise company would answer,� said John Cardwell, co-owner of Real Estate Investors of Decatur LLC. �Richfield�s inside knowledge of franchise operations and its ability to maximize the franchisor/franchisee relationship is critical to our success as a multi-brand hotel owner.�

Cardwell said one of the reasons his company is so comfortable with Richfield is that members of the Richfield team�which combines more than 100 years of hotel management experience--have worked for franchise companies in the past at the corporate and property level. 

�Maintaining relationships with the brands is key,� said Bill Zollars, Richfield VP of Operations. �John Cardwell felt comfortable with the relationship Richfield has built over many years with a host of franchise companies, and as such, he was confident in our ability to drive revenue and profitability to his hotels by working with the franchise company of each brand.�

Years of Experience

Richfield provides a broad range of services proven to help properties attain their operational goals�simply, efficiently and affordably. Richfield has successfully managed more than 250 properties, encompassing the entire range of product type, quality, size and scope of operation. In addition, the management team has a proven track record of assisting owners and operators who are experiencing increased performance concerns relating to the repositioning of their asset in its competitive market, as well as improving profitability flow through. The bottom line: Richfield helps hotels achieve better operating results to maximize real estate value.

�Each of these Decatur properties are less than six years old and are in excellent condition,� Conran said. �Richfield�s immediate goal is to maximize the franchise delivery each brand provides and to optimize the yield within each system.  In addition, we will be putting new marketing strategies in place and cross-selling each property in the market.�

Cross Selling Is Key

Conran said there are a lot of synergies and economies of scale in managing the four Decatur hotels for Cardwell. Richfield will work with the properties on cross-selling all hotels in the Real Estate Investors of Decatur LLC portfolio and at the same time promote a centralized approach to doing business thereby creating operational efficiencies and savings for the portfolio.

�Richfield was marketing the heck out of the 372-room Holiday Inn Select from day one,� Cardwell said. �We knew that if we didn�t use Richfield�s expertise to help us sell our other three properties, they would soon make the Holiday Inn a competitor. We didn�t want to try to beat them, we wanted to join them.�

Cardwell said that using the same controller and sales staff, and cross-training front-desk and engineering staff to work across all properties will be a big financial advantage. It also will help cut down on employee turn over, since employees can be shared across the other properties when business either picks up or slows down.

�We are thrilled to be working hand-in-hand with Richfield to provide centralized services for our hotel portfolio and to take advantage of the economies of scale -- both operationally and from a marketing standpoint,� Cardwell said. �We could never have imagined the financial and marketing possibilities that are now available to us through Richfield.�

About the properties

The Comfort Inn is located at 210 Whewell Drive at the junction of I-72 and Route 67 within the city limits of South Jacksonville. The hotel opened June 22, 2000, with 70 guestrooms. Each guestrooms is equipped with a refrigerator, microwave, iron, ironing board, hair dryer, dual phone lines with data jacks and 25" television. The hotel features an indoor heated pool, whirlpool, fitness room, business center with Internet access and a guest laundry facility. 

The Ramada Limited Decatur is located at 355 E. Hickory Point Rd. in Decatur. Each of the 60 guestrooms is equipped with a dataport. The property features an indoor pool and whirlpool. Jacuzzi suites are available.

The Country Inn & Suites By Carlson Decatur is located at the corner of I-72 and Highway 51. The property boasts 72 guestrooms, which feature a coffeemaker, wingback chair, writing table, dataport, hairdryer, telephone with computer ports, and Nintendo with games. All suites are furnished with a microwave and refrigerator. Whirlpool units are available. An indoor swimming pool, fitness room, and meeting room are provided.

About Richfield
Richfield Hospitality Services provides a full complement of successful management services to a broad range of limited-service, full-service and resort hotels.  The company achieves superior operating results through intense focus on its strong commitment to guests, employees and owners. Richfield is one of the key business units of SWAN Inc., a multi-service company focused on the hospitality industry.   Other hospitality services of SWAN include SCEPTRE (reservations management), SHIELD (insurance and risk management) and SOURCE (procurement of operating supplies and FF&E).

Swan Inc. is headquartered in Denver with approximately 1,000 employees. The company's shareholders include City e-Solutions Limited (CES) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc, a U.K.-based company listed on the London Stock Exchange, operating 91 hotels worldwide.