MeriStar Hospitality Corporation (NYSE: MHX), the nation`s third largest hotel real estate investment trust (REIT), and MeriStar Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: MMH), the nation`s largest independent hotel management company, today announced that the companies have elected J. Taylor Crandall to their respective boards of directors.
Crandall will replace departing board member Daniel L. Doctoroff, who resigned upon being named deputy mayor for economic development of New York City.

Crandall is managing partner of Oak Hill Capital Management in Menlo Park, Calif., and chief operating officer of Keystone Inc. of Ft. Worth, Texas, an affiliate of Oak Hill Capital Management Inc. Oak Hill Capital Partners, L.P., a private equity investment group, is a participant with MeriStar Hospitality Corporation and MeriStar Hotels & Resorts in MeriStar Investment Partners, a $400 million hotel investment partnership which currently owns nine hotels.

``J. Crandall`s substantial background in finance and considerable experience with acquisitions will give us additional expert counsel in this area of our business,`` said Paul Whetsell, chairman and chief executive officer of MeriStar Hotels & Resorts.

Crandall first joined Keystone in 1986 as chief financial officer and played a key role in that organization`s major investment transactions, including Wometco Cable Corporation, American Skiing Company, Bell & Howell Company, National Reinsurance Company and Oreck Corporation. He also serves on the board of advisors of Oak Hill Capital Partners and Oak Hill Strategic Partners, L.P., both of which he was instrumental in founding.

Prior to his affiliation with Keystone, Crandall was a vice president of First National Bank of Boston, where he managed a leveraged buy-out group. He earned a B.A. degree from Bowdoin College.

Washington, D.C.-based MeriStar Hospitality Corporation owns 112 principally upscale, full-service hotels in major markets and resort locations with 28,597 rooms in 27 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. The company owns hotels under such internationally known brands as Hilton, Sheraton, Marriott, Westin, Radisson and Doubletree.

MeriStar Hotels & Resorts operates 275 hospitality properties with more than 57,000 rooms in 41 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada, including 54 properties managed by Flagstone Hospitality Management, a subsidiary of MeriStar Hotels & Resorts. Through its Doral Golf division, MeriStar manages six golf courses. BridgeStreet Corporate Housing Worldwide, a MeriStar subsidiary, is one of the world`s largest corporate housing providers, offering upscale, fully furnished corporate housing throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Paris, France and 35 additional countries through its network partners. For more information about MeriStar Hospitality and MeriStar Hotels & Resorts, visit the companies` Web site: www.meristar.com.

This press release contains ``forward-looking statements,`` within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, about the Companies, including those statements regarding future operating results and the timing and composition of revenues, among others, and statements containing words such as ``expects,`` ``believes`` or ``will,`` which indicate that those statements are forward-looking. Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially, including the effects of the events of September 11, 2001 and the downturn in the economy. Additional risks are discussed in the Companies` filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Companies` annual reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000.

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