Nov. 26--The owner of a Palm Springs resort hotel facing possible foreclosure said he's trying to arrange financing that will avoid a forced sale of the facility. 

Mark Bragg, owner and general manager of the beleaguered Palm Springs Marquis Resort in downtown Palm Springs, said he has been speaking with prospective investors to arrange financing. 

Bragg would not discuss financial details, but acknowledged the hotel faces foreclosure because of missed mortgage payments. He said a financing plan could be in place by the end of this week, averting a scheduled Dec. 6 foreclosure sale. 

"I believe we will turn this around," said Bragg. "I don't think there will be a sale." 

Bragg, who has been trying for nearly two decades to build Shadowrock, a golf resort in Palm Springs, said the 15-year-old Marquis hotel was mismanaged by a company he hired in early 1999 to run the hotel. 

Bragg and his wife Pegge bought the hotel four years ago. 

The management company, International Conference Resorts, changed the hotel's name to Palm Springs Conference Resorts, a move that caused confusion with much of the hotel's clientele, Bragg said. 

"People were driving around looking for the (hotel) because they didn't know about the new name," Bragg said. The management company also turned away $2.5 million in business -- revenue that had already been included in the hotel's budget, Bragg said. The management firm mistakenly believed it could get other business at higher rates, he said. 

International Conference Resorts, based In Scottsdale, Ariz., took the actions on its own, without telling Bragg, he said. The company has since filed for Chapter 7 liquidation and gone out of business, Bragg said. No one connected with the company could be reached for comment. 

"That's what a management company does, it runs the property for you," said Bragg. "They were also very high-handed to a lot of customers. We've been apologizing and begging forgiveness ever since." 

Bragg fired International Conference Resorts in the spring of 2000 and is managing the hotel with his wife. 

Citing the high cost of energy, the Marquis closed its doors for seven weeks last summer. 

John Waters Jr. contributed to this report. 

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