Denver, Colo. � October 27, 2002 � Richfield, a SWAN solution that has been providing practical, profitable hotel management services for more than 30 years, was retained this month by MicroHospitality, a Silver Spring, MD-based development company, to manage and operate The Clarion Hotel @ Research Technology Park in Raleigh-Durham, N.C. 
 

�As a family-owned and operated business, we were looking to align ourselves with a company that shares our management and operating philosophies and could immediately maximize our revenue and marketing potential,� said Rakesh Patel, owner of the one-year-old property. �Richfield was the top contender from the very beginning -- not only because it has a great reputation, but the company is run by hoteliers just like us. Taking

Clarion Hotel @ Research Triangle Park 4912 S. Miami Blvd  Research Triangle Park, NC

The Richfield management team combines more than 100 years of hotel management experience � a level of expertise that most companies can�t afford to have on board.

The company 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.

Business Traveler Mecca

The Clarion Hotel @ RTP (www.Clarionhotelrtp.com) is a full-service property located only three miles from Raleigh-Durham International Airport and minutes from Downtown Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. The property is extremely convenient for the hundreds of corporations based in Research Triangle Park, such as IBM, Nortel Networks, US EPA, GlaxoSmithKline, AT&T, Cisco Systems, Sony, Ericsson, BASF, RMC, Lockheed Martin, and Underwriters Laboratories. The property also is in close proximity to all major university campuses and medical centers. Each of the property�s 81 spacious guestrooms is equipped with the latest technology to meet business travelers� needs. The hotel also offers a full-service Business Center.

�Richfield was brought on board to give The Clarion a significant jump start in booking business from these major corporations,� said Robert Ferree, Richfield VP of Operations. �Our immediate goal is to establish The Clarion as �the place to stay� for business accommodations.�

Richfield assumed management on October 15th. Within its first full week of operation, Ferree said Richfield executed a six-member sales blitz and completed 253 outside sales calls to local RTP businesses on behalf of The Clarion and other Richfield properties.

�The Clarion @ RTP is unique in that it sits in the heart of a major feeder market for many of Richfield�s other properties, primarily those on the East Coast,� said Aik Hong Tan, Richfield President. �Sending business back to the RTP area from the other Richfield property markets is a natural fit to the company�s portfolio. We are proud to bring The Clarion Hotel @ RTP into the Richfield family, and to continue our affiliation with the Choice Hotels International franchise.�

Patel and Tan agreed that the synergies between Richfield and the RTP property were ideal.

�Turning to Richfield was not a difficult decision,� Patel said. �Not only did Richfield receive rave reviews from those in the franchise community, but they know the RTP market and often make sales calls to the same businesses we are trying to get in front of. Even better, as a business unit of SWAN, Richfield not only offers us exceptional management and marketing expertise, but they can provide us with revenue management advice through electronic channels under Sceptre, purchasing under Source, as well as insurance and risk management under Shield. This gives us the full-service feel we were looking for.�

Need for management growing

Tom Conran, Richfield Managing Director, said Richfield is proof that owners are realizing the value of a management company in a down economy. The Clarion is the third contract signed by Richfield this month. The Holiday Inn Select Hotel & Conference Center in Decatur, Ill., and The Hill House Inn Of Mendocino in California, retained Richfield earlier this month.

�Historically, the most difficult economic times present the greatest opportunity for Richfield to create value for hoteliers,� Conran said. �Richfield 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 and improving profitability. Those are the ingredients that independent owners and operators are looking for today�and it�s a recipe for success.�

For more information on becoming part of the Richfield family, call Tom Conran at (860) 648-9040 or Aik Hong Tan at 303-220-2185.  Hoteliers also can visit www.richfield.com.

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