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Lodging Unlimited Forms Uglyhotels.com
to Acquire “Extraordinary Potential” Hotels
CHICAGO, Ill.,
January 22, 2007-Officials of Lodging Unlimited, Inc. (LUI), a
national, mid-sized hotel management company, today announced that
it has created uglyhotels.com, a unique Web site that will serve as
the base for acquiring “extraordinary potential” hotels.
“There
currently are a tremendous amount of hotels trading hands,” said
Morris Lasky, LUI president and CEO. “However, there is one class of
hotels that has not seen as much movement, and those are what we
call the 'extraordinary potential' hotels. Like swan in the
children's tale, “The Ugly Duckling,” many hotels have another life
in them, but that life needs to be uncovered. That's what
uglyhotels.com is all about, finding the ugly ducklings with
extraordinary potential and giving them a new, profitable life.
Usually, these properties are older and need substantial amounts of
strategic capital infusion, as well as creative positioning to bring
these hotels back to life.”
Lasky noted
that LUI specializes in the management of troubled hotels that
require deep turnarounds. “Uglyhotels.com is a natural extension of
our business model. In addition to being third-party operators, we
also acquire and co-invest in our properties when appropriate,” he
said. “We have access to substantial capital through Aries Capital,
a nationwide, full-service mortgage banking firm, and other
institutional investors, and intend on being aggressive acquirers.
We seek the most challenged hotel in a given market, because we are
confident that with the right capital and concept, many can be
turned around. Our only qualifier is that the hotel must have at
least 150 rooms, in a market that has some barriers to new
competition. With offices in Chicago, Phoenix and Philadelphia, we
can move quickly on properties anywhere in the country,” he noted.
“Nearly everyone is looking for hotels that they can fix-up and
turn-around, but few are looking at the hotels that need a major,
major commitment. We relish the challenge, because we believe that
we will generate superior returns after we complete our makeover.”
Lodging Unlimited is a mid-sized, national hotel management company
that has operated more than 250 hotels valued at more than $6
billion over its 35-plus-year history. With offices in Chicago,
Phoenix, and Philadelphia, the company targets hotels and resorts in
the mid- and upscale segments, typically ranging in size from 80 to
500 rooms. The company currently operates approximately 17 hotels
with more than 2,500 rooms. Additional information may be found at
www.uglyhotels.com. |
