ResortQuest International, Inc. (NYSE:RZT), the first brand name and “real-time” online booking service (resortquest.com) in vacation condominium and home rentals, sales and property management services, today announced that it had entered its 42nd resort destination market with the acquisition of Base Mountain Properties, Inc. in world-renowned Sun Valley, Idaho. It is ResortQuest`s third strategic acquisition of the year, bringing the company`s total number of vacation rentals under management to more than 18,000.

“Base Mountain Properties gives us an important foothold in Sun Valley, America`s first destination ski and summer resort,” said David L. Levine, chairman, president and CEO. “While Base Mountain Properties currently manages nearly 200 quality vacation homes, condominiums and townhouses, there are more than 1,700 total units serving the estimated 93,000 winter and 134,000 summer guests. With the power and benefits of the ResortQuest brand, we will begin aggressively marketing our advantages to the other homeowners in the market.”

Levine also noted that the effective date of the closing was July 1, 2000. “The timing is a perfect example of our refined acquisition strategy where we acquire companies at the beginning of their high season,” he said. “Although Sun Valley is noted primarily for its incredible winter skiing and has been voted the top ski resort in the U.S., it also enjoys a very strong summer season. We expect the Base Mountain acquisition will be immediately accretive in the third quarter.”

“Our association with a national brand like ResortQuest and its state-of-the-art website greatly expands the pool of potential renters for our existing homeowners,” said Base Mountain partners, Rick Sharbinin and Kathy Gyurkey. “They also bring highly sophisticated marketing, management and forecasting systems to the table that will help owners maximize their rental income streams,” said Brian Emerick, partner. “We expect that ResortQuest`s local marketing programs will greatly expand our owner base.”

Nestled in the rugged Sawtooth Mountains in central Idaho`s Big Wood River Valley, Sun Valley is one of America`s pre-eminent resorts. Created 62 years ago by W. Averell Harriman, then president of the Union Pacific Railroad, to attract passenger traffic into the West, Sun Valley has acted as a power magnet for generations of American and foreign visitors. Today, more than 220,000 vacationers visit the resort year round.

——-