Interstate Hotels & Resorts Adds England to International Management Portfolio

ARLINGTON, VA—Interstate Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: IHR), a leading hotel real estate investor and the nation’s largest independent hotel management company,  announced that Harte Holdings, on behalf of Argyll Hotel Group, has awarded management contracts for three hotels in London to Interstate, marking the operator’s entry into one of the world’s great hotel cities.

The upscale boutique hotels, all located in central London, include The Royal Park, (top left photo) The Cranley (middle right photo) and The Elizabeth bottom  left photo).

England is the latest addition to Interstate’s growing international portfolio, which also includes Russia, India, Mexico, Belgium, Canada, Ireland and Costa Rica.

Interstate also manages four other hotels in a joint venture with Harte Holdings. “It is particularly gratifying that the source of these contracts is an existing joint venture partner of ours,” said Thomas F. Hewitt, chairman and chief executive officer.

 “We teamed up with Harte Holdings in 2008 in a partnership that acquired a portfolio of four U.S. hotels, hotels that we manage for the JV.

" Over the past 18 months, we have achieved very competitive results at those properties in spite of the historic downturn in the economy and our industry.

"We consider these new contracts an expression of Harte’s continuing confidence in our ability to manage successfully in any economic climate.”

“In our first hotel joint venture in the U.S., Interstate has proven itself a strong partner and an extremely reliable and capable operator,” said Donal Kelleher, investment director of Harte Holdings.

"“They have done an excellent job of managing our JV properties, controlling costs and driving revenue under very challenging circumstances. We have the utmost confidence in their ability to adapt their proven management practices to international markets.”

Leslie Ng, Interstate’s chief investment officer, noted that Interstate Management Services will oversee management of the London properties out of the company’s regional office in Moscow. “England is the fourth European country where we manage a hotel and brings to 10 our total number of European contracts. We are working with Harte on a number of other European opportunities and look forward to growing our platform there.”

The other hotels managed by Interstate for its joint venture with Harte Holdings include the Sheraton Fraser Great Valley near Philadelphia; Sheraton Mahwah, N.J.; Latham Hotel Georgetown, Washington, D.C.; and the Hilton Lafayette, La. Including the three London hotels with 129 total rooms, the seven properties aggregate 1,021 rooms.

Contact: Carrie McIntyre, SVP, Treasurer, (703) 387-3320