NORWALK, Conn., January 23, 2006 � HEI Hospitality, a rapidly growing
hospitality investment and operating company, today announced that it has
completed hotel acquisitions valued at approximately $1.5 billion over
the past three years and is positioned to invest up to an additional $1.5
billion over the coming three years. To facilitate its planned growth,
the company is building significant depth into its acquisition and operation
teams, as well as staffing a recently-created development division of the
company. As part of this expansion, HEI announced the appointment
and/or promotion of four executives to the acquisition and development
teams and creation of five new positions within the operations team.
When all positions are filled, HEI will have approximately 70 professionals
in its corporate office, in addition to the approximately 5,000 associates
at HEI�s 28 hotel properties who are helping to execute each investment�s
business plan.
�We believe the long-term outlook for hotel investment remains quite
attractive,� said Gary Mendell, chairman and chief executive officer of
HEI Hospitality. �While we are not driven by a specific timetable,
our over-arching objective is to strategically invest $500 million annually
over the next several years in the acquisition and development of primarily
hotel-related opportunities. We have carefully assembled a first
class investment team over the last several years, and our depth in this
area continues to fuel a very active pipeline of prospective investment
opportunities. HEI now has 13 professionals, with more than 185 years
of collective experience, driving its acquisition and development effort
with several additional positions to be filled in the coming months.�
The company announced four senior staff additions/promotions to support
the planned growth in its acquisition and development activity:
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Jin Y. Lee �The 16-year hotel and real estate professional was promoted
to senior vice president of acquisitions after having spent the previous
two years as senior vice president feasibility & investment analysis.
In his new position, he will be responsible for sourcing and negotiating
transactions, with an emphasis on the western half of the country.
Prior to joining HEI, Lee served as vice president acquisition and development
with Kimpton Group for several years and was previously director of development
planning and feasibility with Marriott International. He is a former
vice president of HVS International and began his career with Ritz-Carlton.
He holds an M.B.A. from the University of California, Irvine and a B.S.
in Hotel Administration from Cornell University. Lee is a member
of ULI and The Cornell Hotel Society. Lee will join the senior acquisition
team comprised of Steve Mendell, Clark Hanrattie and Roger Clark.
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Brett M. Wilderman �Wilderman recently joined the company as director
of acquisitions to support the firm�s increased evaluation of resort-oriented
investments. Previously he spent three years as acquisitions manager
at Louis Dreyfus Property Group along with prior positions at Loews Hotels
and PKF Consulting. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell
University�s School of Hotel Administration.
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Stephen L. Chan �Chan, who joined HEI in early 2005 as director
of feasibility and investment analysis from SCS Advisors/Walton Street
Capital, has been promoted to vice president of feasibility and investment
analysis. In this capacity, he will oversee a team of six seasoned
professionals who will be responsible for handling the firm�s feasibility
and investment analysis. At SCS Advisors, Chan held the position
of asset manager/acquisitions and, during his tenure, was involved in more
than 30 projects, including portfolios and individual hotels. Previously,
he was a senior associate with HVS. He holds a B.S. in Finance from
Cornell University. He is a CFA Level II Candidate, a member of the
Cornell Hotel Society and a member of the Hospitality Asset Manager�s Association.
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Stephen Walker �Walker was promoted from senior manager of feasibility
to director of development. He will report to Russell Urban, who
recently joined HEI as senior vice president development to spearhead a
newly created hotel development division. With more than a decade
of hospitality experience, Walker�s career includes positions with HVS
International, Four Seasons Hotel Company and the Statler Hotel.
�We will shortly be announcing our first acquisition in 2006 and are working
diligently on a substantial number of additional transactions,� Mendell
added. �We continue to target first-class, full-service hotels as
our principal investment focus; however, we now are positioned to pursue
new development opportunities, such as aloft by Starwood, Courtyard by
Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn, as well as investments in select resort,
leisure and hospitality-oriented mixed-use projects.
HEI Hospitality, headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., is an ownership/investment
firm that owns and/or operates 28 first-class and full-service hotels throughout
the United States under such well-known brand names as Marriott, Sheraton,
Westin and Hilton. Merritt Hospitality is an independent hotel management
company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of HEI Hospitality.
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