Press Release: Suburban Lodges of America, Inc.
August 2, 2001
ATLANTA, GA -- Suburban Lodges of America, Inc. (Nasdaq: SLAM), owner/franchisor of the Suburban Lodge and GuestHouse
International hotel brands and operator of 65 Company-owned Suburban Lodge hotels, yeserday announced the opening
of a new franchised Suburban Lodge hotel in Destin, Florida and the acquisition of the Company's Tampa Largo Suburban
Lodge hotel by a franchisee.
On July 2, the Company sold its 132-room Tampa Largo hotel to Grantham Enterprises of Englewood, Florida. The sale
resulted in net proceeds to the Company of approximately $5.2 million and will result in the recording of a small
gain in the Company's third quarter financial statements. Grantham Enterprises acquired an Atlanta-area hotel from
the Company two years earlier and now owns a total of three Suburban Lodge hotels.
On July 24, franchisee Chandler Properties opened its first Suburban Lodge hotel, a 101-room Suburban Lodge Extra
located in Destin, Florida. The hotel is a three-story interior corridor building with a stucco finish. It features
a pool, nearby beach and outlet mall access and several king and adjoining guestrooms. In addition to the usual
Suburban Lodge features, including a complete kitchen in every guest room, the Destin Suburban Lodge Extra features
all deluxe size guest rooms and upgraded furnishings. Chandler Properties has engaged the Company to manage this
hotel. The Company now manages eleven hotels for its franchisees.
``Grantham Enterprises is a very strong operator of Suburban Lodge hotels,'' said Dan Berman, Brand President.
``We are pleased that this franchisee reaffirmed its commitment to the Suburban Lodge brand by adding a third Suburban
Lodge hotel to its portfolio. This acquisition makes perfect sense for Grantham Enterprises in that it already
owns another Suburban Lodge hotel in the Tampa area.
``The opening of the Suburban Lodge Extra hotel in the Destin leisure market demonstrates the brand's versatility.
Although there is a significant amount of extended stay travel in leisure markets, much of this demand is currently
being accommodated in transient hotels. In addition to Destin, our franchisees have also recently opened properties
in Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head,'' Mr. Berman concluded.
These two hotels increased to 59 the number of franchised Suburban Lodge hotels. With a total of 124 hotels currently
open, Suburban Lodge is the largest economy extended stay brand in America.
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Contact:
Suburban Lodges of America, Inc.
Paul A. Criscillis, Jr., 770/799-5000