Winston Hotels, Inc. (NYSE: WXH), a real estate investment trust (REIT) and owner of premium limited-service, upscale extended-stay and full-service hotels, today announced that president and chief operating officer Jim Rosenberg will leave the Company in November to fill one of the top positions at one of the largest publicly traded apartment real estate investment trusts in the country.
Bob Winston, chief executive officer, will assume the additional duties, responsibilities and title held by Rosenberg.

“Jim Rosenberg has been a significant contributor to Winston Hotels, and will be a great asset at his new company,” Winston said. “We are pleased for him and believe that his new position speaks well of Jim`s track record while at Winston Hotels. We wish him all the best in his new endeavors.”

“During the past five years, I very much have enjoyed my affiliation with Winston Hotels as the company has grown,” Rosenberg said. “I am especially pleased at the way our properties have responded, following the economic downturn and in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. Under Bob`s continued leadership, the Company has a clear vision for growth, which I believe will help Winston Hotels to continue to generate superior shareholder returns in the hotel REIT sector.”

“We will continue to operate under our proven strategies designed to foster growth in all phases of the hotel real estate cycle,” Winston added. “Specifically, these include acquiring upscale premium-branded properties in markets that have high barriers to new competition and turn-around potential, improving same-store operations, providing mezzanine financing and developing new hotels. We currently are focused primarily on our same-store operations, acquisitions and mezzanine financing programs.”

Rosenberg joined the Company in 1998 as chief financial officer and chief operating officer and was promoted to president in 1999.

Raleigh, North Carolina-based Winston Hotels, Inc., is a real estate investment trust specializing in the development, acquisition, repositioning and active asset management of premium limited-service, upscale extended-stay and full-service hotels, with a portfolio increasingly weighted toward the leading brands in the lodging industry`s upscale segment. The Company currently owns or is invested in 53 hotels with 7,273 rooms in 16 states, which includes: 46 wholly-owned properties with 6,330 rooms; a 49 percent ownership interest in three joint venture hotels with 453 rooms; a 50 percent ownership interest in two joint venture hotels with 215 rooms; and a mezzanine financing interest in two hotels with 275 rooms. For more information about Winston Hotels, visit the Winston Hotels Web site, www.winstonhotels.com.

In addition to historical information, this press release contains forward-looking statements. The reader can identify these statements by use of words like “may,” “will,” “expect,” “project,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” or “continue” or similar expressions. These statements represent the Company`s judgment and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward looking statements including, but not limited to, changes in general economic conditions, lower occupancy rates, lower average daily rates, development risks including risk of construction delay, cost overruns, occupancy and other governmental permits, zoning, the increase of development costs in connection with projects that are not pursued to completion, the risk of non-payment of mezzanine loans, or the failure to make additional mezzanine debt investments and investments in distressed hotel opportunities. Other risks are discussed in the Company`s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and its other periodic reports.

CONTACT: Winston Hotels, Inc., Raleigh Patti L. Bell, 919/510-8003; [email protected] or Daly Gray Jerry Daly or Carol McCune, 703/435-6293 [email protected] or [email protected]

——-