ResortQuest International, Inc. (NYSE: RZT), the first brand name and online booking service (ResortQuest.com) in vacation condominium and home rentals, sales and property management services, announced that the company has acquired Coates, Reid & Waldron, the leading real estate and vacation property management company with properties in Aspen and Snowmass Village, Colo.

The acquisition is the second announced by the company in a week and brings to nine the number of acquisitions ResortQuest has completed in 1999, aggregating nearly 5,000 units. Since ResortQuest=s IPO in May 1998, the company has acquired a total of 14 vacation property management companies. Including Coates, Reid & Waldron (CRW), ResortQuest now offers more than 15,000 vacation rentals in 33 premier resort destinations across the U.S. and in Canada.

Incorporated in 1972, Coates, Reid & Waldron is the oldest and largest rental management company serving two of the premier ski resorts in the U.S., Snowmass Village and Aspen, both now successful year-round resorts. The company currently manages more than 350 rental properties and 15 owner associations, and also derives substantial revenue from its two real estate sales offices. CRW is ResortQuest`s sixth acquisition in Colorado, further solidifying the company`s leadership position in the state. ResortQuest`s other Colorado management companies are located in Aspen, Breckenridge, Crested Butte, Dillon and Telluride.

 

“Coates, Reid & Waldron is the top rental property management and real estate operation in this area,” said David Sullivan, chairman and chief executive officer. “This acquisition, combined with our existing operation in Aspen, makes ResortQuest the dominant provider of vacation rental properties and real estate sales in the Aspen and Snowmass Village markets. We also gain the area`s leading real estate sales concern that last year participated in $165 million in real estate sales in Aspen and Snowmass Village, generating more than $5.5 million in net commissions.”

 

Sullivan noted that ResortQuest is actively negotiating with a number of other property management companies in key resort markets as part of its ongoing acquisition program. “With ResortQuest`s recent completion of a $50 million private placement of fixed rate debt, we have approximately $55 million in acquisition currency,” Sullivan said. “Last week, we completed the acquisition of our first property management company in Tucson, Arizona, one of the premier golf resort destinations in the country.”

 

Commenting on the acquisition, David Levine, ResortQuest president and chief operating officer, said, “Coates, Reid & Waldron has a first-rate, highly regarded management team. Together with Houston and O`Leary, our other preeminent rental property management and real estate company in Aspen, we now have a majority share of the real estate and vacation rental market in the area. With a total Colorado portfolio approaching 1,500 units, we plan to take full advantage of cross-marketing opportunities.”

 

Memphis-based ResortQuest International provides the first one-stop resource for vacation home and condominium rentals in 33 premier resort destinations throughout the U.S. and in Canada. ResortQuest`s total portfolio now comprises more than 15,000 vacation rental properties. ResortQuest also is the first branded vacation rental, property management and real estate sales company to offer online booking through ResortQuest.com.

 

ResortQuest`s current locations include Gulf Shores, Ala.; Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson, Ariz.; Palm Desert and Palm Springs, Calif.; Aspen, Breckenridge, Crested Butte, Dillon, Snowmass Village and Telluride, Colo.; Bethany Beach, Del.; Captiva Island, Destin, Ft. Myers, Ft. Walton Beach and Sanibel Island, Fla.; St. Simons Island, Ga.; Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, and Kauai, Hawaii; Nantucket, Mass.; Big Sky, Mont.; the Outer Banks of North Carolina; Sunriver, Ore.; Hilton Head Island, S.C.; Park City, Utah; and Whistler, British Columbia.

 

The matters in this press release include “forward looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are qualified by cautionary statements contained herein and in ResortQuest International`s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

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