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Interstate Hotels & Resorts News

Interstate Hotels & Resorts Forms Joint Venture with FFC Capital Corp., Acquires 22 Select-Service Hotels

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 11 PRNewswire-FirstCall — Interstate Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: IHR), a leading hotel real estate investor and the nation's largest independent operator of full- and select-service hotels, today announced that it had formed a joint venture with Pittsburgh-based FFC Capital Corporation. The joint venture acquired 22 Exel Inn properties, which were converted to various Wyndham Worldwide brands upon closing. Interstate invested in a 10 percent equity interest in the 22 hotels, which includes its share of capital improvements to re-brand, re-image, and reposition the hotels. Interstate also has assumed management of the properties.

The 22 hotels, aggregating 2,397 rooms, are located throughout the Midwest, in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Texas. The properties are located along major interstates and proximate to major commercial and leisure demand generators.

"With the addition of the 22 newly converted Wyndham Worldwide brand hotels, we now manage a total of 25 properties for FFC Capital," said Thomas F. Hewitt, chief executive officer of Interstate. "We see this portfolio as a significant opportunity to add value through re-branding and repositioning."

"Interstate's proven track record in the select-service sector makes them an ideal choice as manager for these properties," said Fred Branovan, president of FFC Capital Corporation. "We have aligned our interests and share in the vision for these properties."

Separately, Interstate signed an agreement with FFC Capital to manage the 202-room Courtyard by Marriott Marlborough in Boston, Massachusetts. The property is located between Worcester and Boston, with easy access to routes I-495, Route 20 and I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike) and is surrounded by such popular attractions as the New England Sports Center, Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium, and Wrentham Village Premium Outlets. The hotel offers breakfast and dinner in Felton's Cafe & Bar, a fitness center, and 8,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.

About FFC Capital Corporation

FFC Capital Corporation is a privately held company affiliated with Milton Fine, specializing in investment management across various asset classes, including marketable securities, bonds, stocks, private equities, derivatives, hedge funds, venture capital funds and direct ownership of real estate investments. For more information about FFC Capital Corporation, visit the company's Web site, www.ffccapital.net.

About Interstate

As of today, Interstate Hotels & Resorts has ownership interests in 54 hotels and resorts, including seven wholly owned assets. Together with these properties, the company and its affiliates manage a total of 218 hospitality properties with approximately 45,500 rooms in 36 states, the District of Columbia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Mexico and Russia. Interstate Hotels & Resorts also has contracts to manage 17 to be built hospitality properties with approximately 4,800 rooms. For more information about Interstate Hotels & Resorts, visit the company's Web site, www.ihrco.com.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, about Interstate Hotels & Resorts, 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 volatility of the national economy, economic conditions generally and the hotel and real estate markets specifically, the war in Iraq, international and geopolitical difficulties or health concerns, governmental actions, legislative and regulatory changes, availability of debt and equity capital, interest rates, competition, weather conditions or natural disasters, supply and demand for lodging facilities in our current and proposed market areas, and the company's ability to manage integration and growth. Additional risks are discussed in Interstate Hotels & Resorts' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Interstate Hotels & Resorts' annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006.

Contact: Carrie McIntyre SVP, Treasurer (703) 387-3320

SOURCE Interstate Hotels & Resorts