RFS Announces Annual Meeting

Press Release
March 9, 2001
MEMPHIS, TN -- RFS Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:RFS) yesterday announced that the Company will hold its annual meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 3, 2001 at its headquarters offices at 850 Ridge Lake Boulevard, Suite 220, Memphis, Tennessee.

The record date for shareholders entitled to vote at the meeting is March 15, 2001.

RFS Hotel Investors, Inc. (RFS) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns 59 hotels with approximately 8,600 rooms located in 24 states. RFS's hotel portfolio is diversified by geography, brand and segment. Leading brands under which RFS hotels are operated include Sheraton®, Residence Inn by Marriott®, Hilton®, Doubletree®, Holiday Inn®, Hampton Inn®, and Homewood Suites by Hilton®. By segment, RFS receives approximately 46% of its EBITDA from full service hotels, 30% from extended stay hotels and 24% from limited service hotels. Additional information can be found on the Company's website at www.rfshotel.com.

Certain matters within this press release are discussed using forward-looking language as specified in the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Law, 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. From time to time, these risks are discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Contact: 

     Mimi Hall Communications, Memphis
     Mimi Hall, 901/682-1360