Humphrey Hospitality Trust, Inc. (Nasdaq: HUMP), a self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT), today announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2000. 

For the full year, funds from operations (FFO) increased 5 percent to $1.35 per diluted share in 2000, compared with $1.29 per share in 1999.  Excluding a $470,000 write-off of deferred financing costs in the third quarter, FFO per diluted share increased 8 percent to $1.39.  Additionally, year-over-year comparisons were negatively affected by a significant increase in administrative costs, which were unusually low in 1999. Revenues expanded 109 percent to $33.2 million and total FFO increased 90 percent to $16.3 million, largely due to the merger with Supertel Hospitality on October 26, 1999. 

“We are pleased with the growth in funds from operations for the year, which we posted despite intense competition in the limited-service segment of the lodging industry,” said Paul J. Schulte, Chairman and CEO of Humphrey Hospitality Trust, Inc. “While our renegotiated outsourcing agreement with Humphrey Hospitality Management increases the cost of portfolio and administrative services - reflecting more realistic cost assumptions - it remains far less costly than providing those services in-house.” 

For 2000, revenue per available room (REVPAR) declined 1 percent to $32.78. “REVPAR was hurt by new competition in some of our markets,” said Schulte. “In fact, excluding properties that faced new market entrants within the past 12 months, REVPAR was up slightly, year-over-year, for the vast majority of properties. Our lessee, Humphrey Hospitality Management, is taking aggressive action to improve performance by stepping up its sales and marketing initiatives, tightening its control of property-level operations, and launching a number of capital refurbishment projects that will allow our properties to compete more effectively.”

For the fourth quarter of 2000, FFO per diluted share declined 6 percent to $0.33 from $0.35 in the fourth quarter of 1999.  Fourth-quarter revenues increased 25 percent to $8.3 million, while total FFO increased 14 percent to $4.1 million.

Outlook:
“While market conditions remain challenging, we expect to maintain our current dividend rate,” concluded Schulte. 

Humphrey Hospitality Trust, Inc. is a self-advised real estate investment trust specializing in limited-service lodging. The company owns 92 hotels in 19 midwestern and eastern states. More information on Humphrey Hospitality can be found at www.humphreyhospitality.com.

Certain matters within this press release are discussed using forward-looking language as specified in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and, as such, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results or performance to differ from those projected in the forward-looking statement.  These risks are discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

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