Hawthorn Suites LTD. is a brand extension of Hawthorn Suites, the lodging concept especially targeted to business travelers and families relocating to a new city, attending training classes or on other extended-stay travel. Hawthorn Suites LTD., ideal for shorter trips and extended stay, offers complimentary daily hot breakfast buffet and Wednesday evening social hour, plus an array of guest amenities and business services, all at excellent value. The Hawthorn brand is franchised by Atlanta-based US Franchise Systems (Nasdaq: USFS).

Hawthorn Suites LTD. in West Des Moines will be a four-story, 90 suite property. There will be 52 studio, 33 one-bedroom and five handicapped-accessible suites, with in-room whirlpools in select suites. Each suite will feature a full kitchen, coffee-maker, two-line telephone with modem port, and cable television with VCR, Pay-Per-View and HBO. In addition to complimentary breakfast and social hour, the hotel will offer an indoor pool, hut tub, fitness room, guest laundry and meeting facilities for up to 100. The property is located near the Des Moines Golf & Country Club, Willow Creek Golf Course, and numerous shops and local restaurants.

"We are excited to be breaking ground on Iowa'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, "and we look forward to continuing Hawthorn's Midwest expansion."

Leisure Hotels, L.L.C., which will manage the West Des Moines property, entered into an alliance with USFS in 1998 and has plans to build Hawthorn properties in such mid-western states as Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Already in development are Hawthorn Suites properties in Hilton Head, S.C. and Columbia, Mo. as well as a 100-room golf and convention resort in Ruidoso, N.M., due to open in 2000. Founded in 1985, the
Hutchinson, Kansas-based company specializes in the development and management of hotels in the limited-, suite- and full-service market segments of the lodging industry. The company currently employs 300 and manages 18 hotels and 1,2 13 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 in the Sept. 7, 1998 issue of Hotel Business, and earlier in the year was ranked as one of the top 150 hotel owner/developers in the 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." For more information on Leisure Hotels, visit
them online at www.leisure-hotel.com.

As of April 8, there were 285 Hawthorn properties open or under development. For reservations, contact 1-800-527-1 133 toll-free, or visit Hawthorn at www.hawthorn.com to access information and make reservations instantly.

Atlanta-based U.S. Franchise Systems was formed in 1995 by Mike Leven, a 38-year veteran of the lodging industry, and Neal Aronson, former principal of a leading New York investment firm. USFS' three hotel brands include Microtel Inn & Suites, the all newly-constructed, interior corridor, budget/economy hotel brand; Hawthorn Suites; and Best Inns & Suites, the mid-market/economy brand. USFS also offers hotel management services to its franchisees.