| ATLANTA (Sept. 7, 1999) - Hutchinson, Kansas-based Leisure
Hotels, L.L.C. broke ground on August 31 on New Mexico's first Hawthorn
Suites at 107 Sierra Blanca Dr. in Ruidoso. The Hawthorn Suites Golf &
Convention Resort, an all-suites resort hotel featuring business and extended-stay
accommodations, is located adjacent to The Links Golf Club and the Ruidoso
Convention Center, with 33,000 square feet of meeting facilities. A mid-2000
opening is planned.
Hawthorn Suites in Ruidoso will be a three-story, 120-suite property
with 63 one- or two-bedroom and 57 studio suites. Each will feature a full
or efficiency kitchen, coffee-maker, two-line telephone with modem port,
and cable television with VCR, Pay-Per-View and HBO. Select suites will
also offer in-room whirlpools and fireplaces. In addition to daily complimentary
hot breakfast and evening social hour, the hotel will provide a concierge,
valet, indoor pool and hot tub, fitness room and guest laundry. The property
is two miles from Eastern New Mexico University, 10 miles from Ruidoso
Downs Racing, and 15 miles from the Sierra Blanca Regional Airport and
Ski Apache.
We are excited to be breaking ground on New Mexico's first Hawthorn
property," said Steven C. Olson, president and CEO of the Leisure Hotels
Group of Companies, one of the leading hotel companies in the Midwest.
"The Ruidoso Hawthorn is ideally located for travelers looking to combine
a golf and meeting retreat experience."
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From left: Dee Hubbard, Ed Burger, Ruidoso Mayor Robert
Donaldson, Ruidoso Councillor Bob Sterchi, Steve Olson President &
CEO of Leisure Hotels Group of Companies, Ruidoso Councillor Ron Anderson,
Ruidoso Councillor Bill Chance, Gary Endicott Executive Vice President
& CFO of Leisure Hotels Group of Companies, Ruidoso Councillor Linda
Flack, and Geoff Hill, Regional Vice President of Sales & Development
for US Franchise Systems.
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Leisure Hotels, L.L.C. entered into an alliance with USFS in 1998 and is
also building Hawthorn properties in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri
and Oklahoma, with properties currently under development in West Des Moines,
Iowa and Columbia, Mo. Founded in 1985, the company specializes in the
development and management of hotels in the limited-, suite- and full-service
market segments of the lodging industry. The company employs 300 and manages
18 hotels and 1,213 rooms with such well-recognized hotel flags as Hampton
Inn and Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites.
Leisure Hotels Group of Companies was named among the top 100 owners/developers
in the nation by Hotel Business and was ranked as one of the nation's top
100 hotel owners/developers in the 1999 annual edition of 'The Green
Book.' The company was also named one of the top 60 hotel/management firms
in the U.S. by Real Estate Forum's 'Directory of Top Hotel Management Firms.
Hawthorn Suites is targeted to business travelers attending retreats,
conventions or training classes, handling long-term projects or on other
single night or extended-stay travel, as well as to families relocating
to a new city. Hawthorn offers daily complimentary hot breakfast buffet
and evening social hour Monday through Thursday, plus an array of all-inclusive
guest amenities and business services. The Hawthorn brand is franchised
by Atlanta-based U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: USFS). |
