The $285-million property - the largest hotel development in San Antonio's history and the country's largest public/private hotel venture in 2005 - increases Oxford Lodging's portfolio of upscale hotels and resorts in the U.S. and Japan to nearly $4 billion totaling almost 12,000 rooms. 

The announcement was made jointly today by Bruce Blum, Oxford Lodging executive vice president and principal, and Jon Halpern, managing director of Marathon Real Estate, the investment arm of Marathon Asset Management LLC of New York. 

Hotel Investments LP, a partnership of Marathon Real Estate and FaulknerUSA, broke ground on the property in June 2005. FaulknerUSA is developing and constructing the project as an equity investor, and the City of San Antonio issued $208 million in taxable and tax-exempt revenue bonds for the 885,000-square-foot, mixed-use complex, which includes hotel, restaurant, convention and condominium space. San Francisco-based Oxford Lodging, which has served Hotel Investments in an advisory capacity since May 2005, assumes the role of asset manager today. 

"Oxford Lodging has seen tremendous recent growth in its asset management portfolio, and we are honored to leverage this experience to help ensure the Grand Hyatt San Antonio emerges as one of the nation's premier convention venues," said Blum. "We are also delighted to be a part of the continued transformation of downtown San Antonio and contribute to the city's future economic success." 

In September of last year, Oxford Lodging was named as the asset manager for the Essex House, the venerable Midtown Manhattan hotel property purchased by Dubai Investment Group and currently undergoing a $70-million renovation and repositioning into a luxury, five-star property. Oxford Lodging served as the lead investment advisor to Dubai on the purchase, which received the "Single Asset Transaction" award for 2005 from the American Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS). 

In an arrangement similar to the Grand Hyatt San Antonio, Oxford Lodging assumed asset management responsibilities of the 450-room Omaha Hilton during construction and proceeded to help open the property in 2004 as Nebraska's only AAA four-diamond hotel. Like the Grand Hyatt, the property offers a central location immediately adjacent to the city's convention center, the Quest Center Omaha. 

"The Grand Hyatt San Antonio represents an historic undertaking involving a uniquely structured public/private partnership - so we knew we needed an asset manager with a proven track record in complex transactions," explained Halpern. "Oxford Lodging fits that description perfectly, and has actually been involved in the project since before the groundbreaking." 

The hotel's Riverwalk (Paseo Del Rio) setting immediately adjacent to the 1.3 million-square-foot Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center puts it within a block of the River City Mall, HemisFair Park and La Villita Spanish Village. Complementing the hotel's 1,000 rooms, which include 50 suites and Business Plan and Regency Club accommodations, will be 79,000 square feet of convention and meeting space arranged in two ballrooms and 26 meeting rooms. Other hotel features will include a signature restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner; lobby lounge; coffee bar; fitness center; indoor pool; and underground parking for 600 cars. 

About Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group LLC 
Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group LLC is an advisory and investment firm focused on the investment, asset management, property management and renovation of high-quality lodging assets. Oxford Lodging's principals have been responsible for over $7 billion of lodging investments and have asset managed over 100 upscale and luxury hotels, resorts and conference centers. The firm is currently responsible for nearly a $4-billion, 12,000-room portfolio of luxury and upscale hotels, conference centers and resorts located throughout the United States and Japan. Oxford Lodging's principals and employees are direct investors in 65 percent of this portfolio. Oxford Lodging has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Tokyo. 

About Marathon Real Estate 
Launched in early 2004 by Marathon Asset Management LLC, Marathon's Real Estate business is committed to identifying investment opportunities in the commercial real estate marketplace within the United States. Since establishment, Marathon Real Estate has completed 20 real estate transactions totaling over $1.6 billion in asset value. Marathon Asset Management, founded in 1998, employs over 100 professionals and specializes in sourcing, analyzing and investing in global, credit-sensitive debt instruments. The firm currently has more than $7 billion of equity under management with total assets under management of $13 billion. Marathon Asset Management is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the U.S. Additional information about Marathon can be found at www.marathonrealestate.com.

Oxford Lodging
Bob Ochsner
949-748-7000, ext. 100
www.oxfordlodging.com