Ashford Hospitality Trust today announced it has placed five non-core hotels under contract for sale
to four separate buyers for a total sale price of $29.85 million. Three of
the closings are expected to take place in June 2005 for total proceeds of
$18.85 million, and the remaining closing is expected to occur prior to
December 31, 2005 for total proceeds of $11 million. All of the buyers
have deposited non-refundable earnest money to secure the contracts. Acquired by Ashford in March 2005 as part of a 21-hotel portfolio, the
168-room Holiday Inn Coral Gables in Coral Gables, FL, the 72-room Inn on
the Square in Falmouth, MA, the 136-room Gull Wing Suites in South
Yarmouth, MA, the 110-room Howard Johnson Commack in Commack, NY, and the
80-room Howard Johnson Westbury in Westbury, NY, had been designated as
non-core properties along with three other hotels in this portfolio (which
have since been sold). Four of the eight hotels had a trailing
twelve-month negative net operating income. Following the completion of
these sales the remaining 13-core hotels will have been acquired for a
purchase price equal to $212.5 million and as of April 2005 the trailing
twelve month net operating income cap rate is 11% and the trailing twelve
month EBITDA yield is 13%. Upon the sale closings, Ashford will have
completed its disposition strategy for all eight non-core hotels. CB
Richard Ellis and Molinaro Koger brokered the transactions for Ashford.

Monty J. Bennett, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ashford,
commented, “With these latest agreements, we are on track to finalize the
disposition of all eight non-core assets for a total sale price of nearly
$9 million higher than we had originally anticipated. The net proceeds
from these dispositions will be redeployed to properties offering better
total returns to our shareholders. The sale of these properties in such a
timely and accretive fashion further demonstrates our proven ability to
enhance the value of portfolio transactions while remaining true to our
stated investment strategy.”
——-