Boykin Lodging Company (NYSE: BOY), a hotel real estate investment trust, said today that last September`s exchange of certain properties with Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE: HLT) was voted “Deal of the Year under $30 million” at the UCLA Extension`s 16th Annual Hotel Industry Investment Conference held in Los Angeles last week. The award was jointly accepted by Robert W. Boykin, chairman and chief executive officer of Boykin, and Matthew J. Hart, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Hilton. The two companies announced on September 19, 2000, that they had exchanged certain hotel properties which would have more strategic value in each other`s portfolios.

In that tax-deferred transaction, Boykin transferred its Marriott Cleveland East to Hilton, which converted the hotel to the Hilton brand. In exchange, Boykin obtained from Hilton two hotels in first-rate commercial markets: a Doubletree hotel in San Antonio, Texas, and a Doubletree Guest Suites, in Southfield, Michigan. Boykin also gained the right to terminate without penalty Hilton`s long-term management contract relative to the three Doubletree hotels Boykin owns in the State of Washington, provided that Boykin flags these properties as Red Lion hotels or another mutually acceptable Hilton brand.

“We said at the time that this was a great example of a win-win situation,” said Mr. Boykin, “and we are honored that others in our industry have formally recognized it as such. Both Boykin Lodging and Hilton recognized that each of these properties could realize more earnings potential if the other company owned it. We expect the transaction to begin increasing our funds from operations in 2002, after renovations are completed in Southfield.”

Boykin Lodging Company is a real estate investment trust that focuses on the ownership of full-service, upscale commercial and resort hotels. The company currently owns 32 hotels containing a total of 9,030 rooms located in nineteen states, and operating under such internationally known brands as Doubletree, Marriott, Hilton and Radisson, among others. For more information about Boykin Lodging Company, visit the company`s web site at www.boykinlodging.com.

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