Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS)

Washington, Winners of the Transaction of the Year 2002 awards were announced recently during the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), Jan. 27-29, 2003, at the Century Plaza Hotel & Spa in Los Angeles, Calif. Co-hosted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and the Burba Hotel Network, the ALIS awards were presented to companies with outstanding performance in three categories.

The Westin New York at Times Square received the award for the New Development category for opening in October 2002 despite budget problems and labor shortages in the region's hotel community following the tragedy of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. At the cost of $322.5 million to develop the 863-room property, the Westin was the largest New York City ground-up hotel construction project to open in the past 17 years and the largest new urban hotel to open in the United States in 2002.

Cendant Corporation's acquisition of Trendwest Resorts, Inc. through a tax-free exchange of the company's common stock was chosen as the outstanding deal in the Mergers & Acquisitions category. By obtaining Trendwest's 48 properties and approximately 150,000 timeshare owners, this transaction expands Cendant's existing timeshare operations (including Fairfield Resorts) to various areas located in the western United States, British Columbia, Mexico, Hawaii, and the South Pacific.

Two hotel companies accepted awards in the Single Asset Sale category - making it the first tie of the ALIS awards program.

  • The Hilton Waikoloa's offshore investment group owner sold its 86.66 percent interest in the 1,240-room property to Hilton Hotels Corporation for approximately $155,000,000 in May 2002. Negotiated and closed in less than one month, this speedy transaction reflected 40 percent of the original cost to develop the resort in 1988.
  • The purchase by Laguna Beach Resorts, LLC, of the Laguna Beach Colony, now renamed The Montage Resort & Spa from Five Star Resorts, LLC, from a partnership that included Marriott International, won in this category. The master-planned, 262-room resort and residential project sold for $191,000,000 in June 2002, and includes 14 oceanfront estate lots, 14 beach villas, and a park and parking structure built for the City of Laguna Beach on a 30-acre, oceanfront site. The resort is expected to open in late February 2003.

"These awards were created to honor the most interesting, innovative, and important deals of the year. During a time when new business activities slowly regained momentum, these noteworthy deals took place. Hopefully these acknowledgments will set a standard for future award winners," said BHN President and Conference Chairman Jim Burba.

In addition, Marriott International Chairman of the Board and CEO J.W. "Bill" Marriott received this year's Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his accomplishments in the lodging industry as well as for his substantial contributions to the community. Also, Wynn Resorts, Ltd., President and CEO Steve Wynn was presented with this year's ISHC Pioneer Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions, vision, achievements, and improvements to hospitality industry.

BHN brings together nearly two decades of experience developing and organizing the world's most prominent gatherings of the hotel and tourism investment community. At these events (over 35 conferences completed and/or in development), the investment community has come together to network, conduct business and learn about the latest industry trends. They have become "must attend" events for those interested in investing in hospitality real estate. The BHN Web site at www.BURBA.com, is the gateway for information about the conferences BHN produces, as well as providing a direct link to important players in the hospitality investment world, including lenders, brokers, architects, designers and hotel industry-related organizations.

AH&LA is a 93-year-old federation of state lodging associations throughout the United States with some 13,000 property members worldwide, representing more than 1.7 million guest rooms. AH&LA provides its members with assistance in operations, education, and communications, and lobbies on Capitol Hill to provide a business climate in which the industry can continue to prosper. Individual state associations provide representation at the state level and offer many additional cost-saving benefits.

Tia T. Gordon
Manager Of Media Relations
(202) 289-3153
AH&LA