Paul Whetsell Focus Quotations

Our management team remained focused and active in early 2006. We have taken several actions since year end that will greatly accelerate our capital structure improvement and provide a stronger platform for future growth.

With our focus on upscale, full-service brands in major urban markets, we benefited fully from the continuing growth in transient business demand and the increased competitive strength of our portfolio. We are encouraged that the development pipeline remains conservative, especially in urban markets, where barriers to new competition are the highest.