Expotel Hospitality Services, L.L.C., a hotel management company with 11 hotels operating under Hilton, Holiday Inn, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Doubletree and Best Western flags, has signed agreements to manage two additional hotels: the Doubletree Denver North in Westminster, CO and the St. Christopher in New Orleans.

The 180 room hotel in Westminster is owned by HHP Westminster, L.L.C. and was converted as of May 1, 2003, from the Hilton-managed Doubletree Denver/Boulder to a Doubletree franchise hotel, managed by Expotel. The hotel name will change immediately to Doubletree Denver North. The owners have invested over $1 million over the past year in improvements to many of the hotel’s guest contact areas. The property, located eight miles north of Downtown Denver, has 7,000 sf of meeting space and a “Lafitte’s New Orleans Food And All That Jazz” restaurant - a concept developed by Expotel Hospitality. “Expotel is thrilled with the opportunity we see in the hotel,” said President Tico Bevier in making the announcement. “We have accepted the owners’ challenge to improve the margins in this hotel because we believe we can realize savings approaching $200,000 in our first year.”

The St. Christopher is a 108-room boutique hotel being built by New Orleans private investors one block from Canal Street and the French Quarter. A retrofit of an historic property, the hotel is in the heart of the city, very near the river, Casino and other attractions. The hotel is scheduled to be open by Mardi Gras in February 2004 and joins the historic Pontchartrain Hotel, the Doubletree New Orleans, Hampton Inn Metairie and the Best Western Airport Hotel in Expotel’s management portfolio. “GE Capital is doing the take-out financing and readily approved Expotel’s involvement because we bring tremendous synergy to the equation with our other three managed hotels in New Orleans,” said Bevier. “Expotel is very pleased to be participating in this third-party management venture, and to have secured the support and recognition of GE Capital for our management contract expansion agenda.”

Expotel Hospitality Services, L.L.C. was created in 2001 by New Orleans investors who own $200 million in hotel real estate assets including the Doubletree Hotel New Orleans, for 15 years the most successful Doubletree Hotel in the group. Before adding the two new management contracts, the company ranked 57th among the Top 100 Management Companies list complied by Hotel Business and seeks management opportunities. The company’s hotels outperformed the national ADR average, experiencing a 2.9% increase for 2002 over 2001, compared to a 1.7% decrease in national ADR. The company knows from experience how to finance and operate profitable hotels and applies that knowledge to the selection and management of additions to the portfolio. For more information about Expotel Hospitality management capabilities contact Tico Bevier, 504-212-1492 or visit www.expotel-usa.com.
Headquartered in New Orleans, Expotel Hospitality is a hotel management company with 13 hotels (10 owned and managed, 3 managed) operating under Hilton, Holiday Inn, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Doubletree and Best Western flags as well as the historic Pontchartrain Hotel and a resort in Belize
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