PORT ORANGE, Fla. (Dec. 5, 2011) – Carlson, a global hospitality and travel company, today announced the further expansion of Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM in the Southern United States. The opening of Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Port Orange, Fla., marks the brand’s growth in the region as part of its Ambition 2015 strategy.

“The brand has established a strong footprint in Florida with 28 Country Inns & Suites locations,” said Steve Mogck, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Midscale Brands, Carlson Hotels, Americas. “The continued growth in this region is another step forward in our plan to expand the brand by an additional 250 hotels globally by 2015, primarily in the U.S., Canada, India and Mexico.”

Country Inns & Suites offers caring, consistent, comfortable hospitality with a touch of home. The brand offers an expanded complimentary hot breakfast, free high-speed Internet access and weekday newspaper– features especially attractive to business travelers.

“We are thrilled to be joining Country Inns & Suites, Carlson and their family of brands during these exciting times, given Carlson’s strengths and momentum. We are confident that the consistency, value and leadership of this brand and the Carlson system will result in a successful future for this hotel,” said Karl Thomas of T&T Management, Inc., owning company of the Country Inn & Suites, Port Orange, Fla. The hotel will be managed by Hotel Investment Services Inc. (based in Troy, Mich.), a full-service hotel management company that owns and manages hotels throughout the Midwest, Wyoming and Florida.  Opening the hotel are Tom Clapsaddle, General Manager, and Marisol Moreno, Director of Sales.

The hotel is located five miles from Daytona International Airport and seven miles from the World’s Most Famous Beach. The hotel offers a business center, a fitness center and an outdoor pool. Meeting space is available for up to 50 people. The 87-room hotel features one-bedroom suites, studio suites and guest rooms with a microwave and refrigerator among many other amenities.

For reservations and information, visit www.countryinns.com or call toll-free +1 (800) 456-4000.

About Carlson
Carlson is a global hospitality and travel company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. Carlson encompasses 1,070 hotels, including, Radisson®, Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM, Park Inn by Radisson and Park Plaza®; 909 T.G.I. Friday’s® restaurants; and a majority stake in Carlson Wagonlit Travel®, the global leader in business travel management. Carlson operates in 164 countries and its brands employ more than 170,000 people. http://www.carlson.com

About T&T Management, Inc.
T&T Management, Inc. was established in 1991 and owns hotels in Florida and Wyoming.