Officials of CapStar Hotel Company (NYSE: CHO), a leading hotel investment and management corporation, today announced that it has named Robin A. Kirk as executive vice-president of resorts.
“Resorts are becoming an increasingly important part of our growing company,” said Paul W. Whetsell, CapStar chairman and chief executive officer. “Because resorts have different operating and marketing criteria than other hotel segments, we have organized a separate internal division with the expertise and background to operate our existing resorts more effectively and to focus on adding more resorts to CapStar`s portfolio. Kirk`s experience and entrepreneurial approach to business make him an invaluable addition to CapStar`s senior operating team.”

Kirk, a Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA), will be responsible for overseeing the direction, development and day-to-day activities of CapStar`s resort division, which currently has six properties, including hotels in Santa Barbara and Palm Springs, California, Jekyll Island, Georgia, and St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. He also will work closely with CapStar`s development team to identify additional resort acquisition candidates.

“Kirk brings more than 15 years of hospitality experience to CapStar, working with some of the industry`s top resorts,” said David McCaslin, CapStar chief operating officer. “His background and skill set, in addition to CapStar`s size and resources, should give us a competitive advantage in the resort markets.”

Prior to joining CapStar, Kirk was senior vice-president of Hershey Resort Group, a division of Pennsylvania-based Hershey Entertainment & Resort Company. At Hershey, he was responsible for the day-to-day activities of the company`s resort division, which included $50 million in assets and over 1,000 employees. He has held a number of management positions throughout his career, including director of marketing with Penta Hotels and director of sales and marketing for Hilton Hotels Corporation.

Washington, D.C.-based CapStar Hotel Company owns and manages upscale, full-service hotels and resorts throughout the U.S. and Canada under such internationally known brands as Hilton, Sheraton, Marriott, Embassy Suites, Westin and Doubletree. Including one hotel currently under contract, CapStar`s hotel portfolio comprises 54 owned hotels with 14,503 rooms and 67 leased and/or managed hotels with 10,318 rooms, for a total of 121 properties with 24,821 rooms. The company continues to actively seek acquisitions and management contracts in major markets and resort locations throughout North America.

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