ACCOR ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR NEW SOFITEL IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

Press Release: Accor Business & Leisure Hotels

July 2, 1999
NEW YORK-- Accor, the world's largest hotel and tourism company, announced plans today to build a luxury Sofitel hotel in Washington, D.C., the fifth new hotel the company has announced in the United States in the last two years.

Accor's latest development project is a conversion, transforming a currently vacant office building at the corner of 15th and H Streets, into a 225-room Sofitel hotel that will open in 18 months. John F. Lehodey, president of Accor Business & Leisure Hotels, North America, confirmed today that the company has closed a transaction to purchase the site, known as the Shoreham building, from Shoreham Building Associates in Washington, D.C.

"We are very pleased to be building a Sofitel hotel in such a prestigious location," says Lehodey. "This site is just two blocks from the White House and one block from Lafayette Square, and will give Sofitel an address in the Central Business District of the nation's capital. With the opening of the city's convention center in 2003, located five blocks away, the long-term outlook for this new Sofitel hotel is excellent."

Construction is scheduled to begin before the end of the year. The beautiful limestone facade of the Shoreham Building will be preserved, as the building is located within a historic district. Preliminary plans call for 53 suites (from the total of 225 rooms), a traditional French Provencal restaurant, 12,000 square feet of meeting space and a fitness center.

Accor North America currently manages seven Sofitel hotels in the United States, including the 144-room Hotel Sofitel Washington D.C. located at 1914 Connecticut Avenue, Northwest, close to Dupont Circle. The other North American Sofitels are located in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and San Francisco Bay. Two new Sofitels will open in the United States next year, in Philadelphia (February) and in New York City (April). Another two hotels are in development in downtown Chicago and Dallas. In addition to its Sofitel hotels, Accor North America manages nine Novotel hotels in the U.S. and Canada.

Paris-based Accor currently operates the world's largest hotel network, with 2,700 units serving all segments of the business and leisure hospitality markets, from budget to luxury. The Accor group encompasses five other major brands in addition to Sofitel and Novotel. These include Mercure, Ibis, Formule 1, Etap Hotel and Motel 6. Accor, the European leader and worldwide group in travel, tourism and business services, is active in 140 countries with 125,000 associates through its four complementary activities: hotels, travel agencies with Carlson Wagonlit Travel, car rentals with EuropCar and corporate services with Accor Corporate Services. http://www.sofitel.com/