Press Release
October 21, 1999
ATLANTA, GA -- Lodgian, Inc., (NYSE:LOD), one of the nation's largest owners and operators of hotels, announces
the conversion of three of its properties to Crowne Plaza hotels in conjunction with Bass Hotels & Resorts:
The Omni Albany Hotel in Albany, New York; the Omni West Palm Beach Hotel in West Palm Beach, Florida; and, the
Ramada Plaza Hotel in Houston, Texas.
Crowne Plaza, an upscale, full-service brand of Bass Hotels & Resorts, caters to business and leisure travelers
in key gateway markets and business destinations around the world.
According to Lodgian CEO, Robert S. Cole, the Crowne Plaza brand fits perfectly into Lodgian's overall brand and
repositioning strategy. "These conversions are being driven by a desire to consolidate the number of brands
in our portfolio and to dramatically improve our product quality and market share at these hotels,'' Cole concluded.
"The opening of these properties represents an important phase in our distribution strategy for Crowne Plaza
in North America,'' said Thomas Arasi, President, Bass Hotels & Resorts, The Americas. "We will continue
to partner with quality operators such as Lodgian to aggressively expand the Crowne Plaza brand in key markets.''
Lodgian plans nearly $7 million in renovations to the 386-room Albany property, boosting it to four-star status
and marking an important milestone in the ongoing revitalization of the downtown Albany area. The property, to
be renamed the Crowne Plaza Albany Hotel, is located just blocks from the Capitol Building, Empire State Plaza,
New York State Museum, and Pepsi Arena.
All 220-rooms in the West Palm Beach property will undergo a complete remodeling along with all public areas, meeting
rooms, and swimming pool totaling more than $3.4 million. The property, to be renamed the Crowne Plaza West Palm
Beach, is located directly across from Palm Beach International Airport, providing easy access to I-95 and downtown
West Palm Beach.
Lodgian recently completed $5.2 million in renovations to its 291-room Houston property including all guestrooms,
public areas, meeting space, and building exterior. Located in Northwest Houston just off the Northwest Freeway,
the property, to be renamed the Crowne Plaza Brookhollow, is within easy access to the Galleria business district
and numerous oil industry corporate headquarters.
Bass Hotels & Resorts is the hotel subsidiary of Bass PLC of the United Kingdom. Bass Hotels & Resorts
is the world's most global hotel company and operates or franchises more than 2,700 hotels and 450,000 guest rooms
in more than 90 countries. Bass brands include Inter-Continental Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels &
Resorts, Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, and Stay bridge Suites by Holiday Inn. Each year
the company welcomes more than 150 million guests, offering accommodations and facilities to satisfy the needs
of even the most discerning customer. For more information on Bass Hotels & Resorts contact Jennifer Ploszaj
at 770/604-5912.
Lodgian, Inc. owns and operates a portfolio of over 130 hotels with more than 25,000 rooms in 35 states and Canada.
The hotels are primarily full service, providing food and beverage service as well as meeting facilities. Lodgian
is the second largest Bass Hotels & Resorts franchisee and one of Marriott's largest franchisees. Substantially,
all of Lodgian's hotels are affiliated with nationally recognized hospitality brands such as Crowne Plaza, Doubletree,
Hilton, Radisson, Sheraton and Westin. For more information on Lodgian call 404/364-9400 or visit www.lodgian.com.
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Contact:
Media Contact:
The Zimmerman Agency, Tallahassee, Fla.
Public Relations Counsel
Catherine Sanders
Carrie Zimmerman
850/668-2222
csanders@zimmerman.com