PALM BEACH, Fla., February 25, 2004 � Innkeepers
USA Trust (NYSE: KPA), a hotel real estate investment trust (REIT) and
a leading owner of upscale, extended-stay hotel properties throughout the
United States, today announced that Randall A. Churchey, formerly president
and chief operating officer of RFS Hotel Investors, Inc., a Memphis-based
hotel REIT, has been elected to Innkeepers� board of trustees, effective
February 11. Churchey, 43, also will chair the company�s Audit Committee.
RFS Hotel Investors was acquired
in July 2003 by CNL Hospitality Properties. Prior to Churchey�s tenure
with RFS, where he also served as a director, he was senior vice president
and chief financial officer of FelCor Lodging Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FCH),
a Dallas-based hotel REIT. Before joining FelCor, he held various
positions of increasing scope and responsibility over 15 years with Coopers
& Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), rising to partner and chairman
of Coopers & Lybrand�s hospitality and real estate practice for the
southwestern United States.
�Randy�s previous experience with two top-tier, public hotel REITs and
with Coopers & Lybrand, an international hotel real estate consulting
firm, adds significant depth to our board,� said Jeffrey H. Fisher, Innkeepers�
chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board. �We
also will benefit from his substantial background in accounting and hotel
operations.� |
February 25, 2004 � Innkeepers USA Trust today announced
that it had completed the acquisition of 25 additional hotel leases from
its principal lessee, Innkeepers Hospitality. On December 1, 2003,
the company acquired the first 23 leases from Innkeepers Hospitality, and
it acquired another 11 leases as of December 31, 2003. The company
has acquired an additional 25 hotel leases as of February 1, 2004.
The company has paid Innkeepers Hospitality $5.25 million
in connection with the acquisition of the 59 leases. Taxable REIT
subsidiaries of the company entered into management agreements with an
Innkeepers Hospitality affiliate for the management of the 59 hotels.
Innkeepers Hospitality is controlled by Jeffrey H. Fisher, who also is
the chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board of trustees
of Innkeepers USA Trust.
The company said that it currently expects to complete
the acquisition of the remaining lease held by Innkeepers Hospitality later
in the first quarter of 2004. The Innkeepers Hospitality affiliate
that will manage the hotel covered by the remaining lease is in the final
stage of obtaining additional management contracts with owners not affiliated
with the company so as to qualify as an �eligible independent contractor�
with respect to the hotel. No additional consideration will be paid
to Innkeepers Hospitality upon the acquisition of the remaining lease. |
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Churchey holds a bachelor�s degree in accounting from the University
of Alabama and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Innkeepers USA Trust is a hotel real estate investment trust (REIT)
and a leading owner of upscale, extended-stay hotel properties throughout
the United States. The company owns 66 hotels with a total of 8,185
suites or rooms in 21 states and focuses on acquiring and/or developing
Residence Inns by Marriott and other upscale extended-stay hotels and the
rebranding and repositioning of other hotel properties.
Cautionary statements set forth in reports filed by the company from
time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission discuss important
factors impacting, or that could impact, the company and its results or
forecasted results. |