MeriStar Hotels & Resorts Signs Agreement to Manage The Club at
Jones Creek
Augusta, Ga. Property to be Operated By Doral Golf
Press Release: MeriStar Hotels & Resorts
September 8, 1999
WASHINGTON, DC -- MeriStar Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: MMH), the nation's largest independent hotel management
company, today announced that they have entered into an agreement with an affiliate of New York-based Blackacre
Capital to manage The Club at Jones Creek, an 18-hole championship golf course in Augusta, Georgia. Blackacre Capital
is a privately held fund with investments in golf, hotels and timeshare.
"We continue to see significant opportunities to expand our golf management operations, as well as excellent
synergies to tie into other MeriStar hotels and resorts throughout the United States," said Paul Whetsell,
MeriStar Hotels & Resorts chairman and CEO. "Our Doral golf management unit is having a terrific inaugural
year, and bringing The Club at Jones Creek into the portfolio is another positive development. We intend to continue
expanding at a deliberate rate, working with both institutional investors and individual owners.''
The Club at Jones Creek is highly regarded by both the local community and golf world at large and has been ranked
as one of 'Georgia's Top 10 Best Courses' by Golf Digest and one of the `Southeast's 50 Most Distinctive Courses'
by Golfweek Magazine. "The course offers an exceptional layout in one of the most storied golf communities
in the country,'' said John Plunket, MeriStar executive vice-president and head of the Doral Division. "Following
the renovation and implementation of MeriStar's operating systems, we foresee a substantial improvement in player
satisfaction, resulting in higher revenues and greater profits for the owners."
The property opened in 1986 as the centerpiece of a 520-acre planned residential community. The 7,098-yard golf
course is a Rees Jones-designed, 18-hole, semi-private club located 10 minutes from Augusta National, the annual
site of the prestigious Masters golf tournament. The facilities include a 10,000-square-foot clubhouse that encompasses
a pro shop, restaurant, lockers, meeting space and a golf school.
A renovation, which already is under way, includes extensive new landscaping to enhance the roughs, upgraded bunkers
and tee boxes and new maintenance equipment. Additionally, the clubhouse will undergo renovation to better accommodate
a broad spectrum of member usage, both for golf and social events.
MeriStar Hotels & Resorts leases or manages 218 hotels with 45,546 rooms in 34 states, the District of Columbia,
Canada and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Including The Club at Jones Creek, MeriStar manages nine golf courses in six
states. For more information about MeriStar Hotels & Resorts, Inc., visit the company's web site: www.meristar.com.
The matters in this press release include "forward looking statements" within the meaning of safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are qualified by cautionary statements contained
herein and in MeriStar Hotels & Resorts' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
An Phung
Assistant Treasurer
(202) 295-2214
or
Jerry Daly or Chris Daly, media
Daly Gray Public Relations
(609) 383-1414
or
Nicole Watson
Director of Corporate Communications
(202) 295-2252