EXHIBIT 10.1 EXECUTION COPY AMENDMENT TO CREDIT AGREEMENT ----------------------------- AMENDMENT, dated as of September 18, 1998 (this "Amendment"), among EXTENDED STAY AMERICA, INC., a Delaware corporation (the "Borrower"), the banks party to the Credit Agreement described below (the "Banks"), MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., as Syndication Agent and Arranger, and THE INDUSTRIAL BANK OF JAPAN, LIMITED, as Administrative Agent. All capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the respective meanings provided such terms in the Credit Agreement referred to below. W I T N E S S E T H : ------------------- WHEREAS, the Borrower, the Banks, Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Syndication Agent and Arranger, and The Industrial Bank of Japan, as Administrative Agent are parties to an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of March 10, 1998 (as amended, modified and supplemented through the date hereof, the "Credit Agreement"); WHEREAS, the parties hereto wish to amend the Credit Agreement as herein provided; NOW THEREFORE, it is agreed: 1. Section 11 of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended by (a) adding the proviso "provided that the September 1998 Charge shall not be deemed to constitute corporate overhead for purposes of this definition" at the end of the definition of "Annualized Corporate Overhead Amount", (b) deleting the "and" before clause (iv) of the proviso to the definition of "Consolidated Net Income" and inserting a comma in lieu thereof, (c) adding the phrase "and (v) the September 1998 Charge shall not be taken into account in determining Consolidated Net Income of the Borrower" at the end of the definition of "Consolidated Net Income" and (d) adding the following definition in the appropriate alphabetical order: "September 1998 Charge" shall mean the non-recurring expense of up to $13,250,000 resulting from the establishment in the fiscal quarter of the Borrower ended September 1998 of a valuation allowance for costs which have been incurred to acquire options for sites, the performance of related due diligence and other related expenses. 2. This Amendment is limited precisely as written and shall not be deemed to be a consent to or modification of any other term or condition of the Credit Agreement, the other Credit Documents or any of the instruments or agreements referred to therein. 3. In order to induce the Banks to enter into this Amendment, the Borrower hereby represents and warrants that (x) no Default or Event of Default exists on the Amendment Date (as defined below) after giving effect to this Amendment and (y) all of the representations and warranties contained in the Credit Documents shall be true and correct in all material respects on the Amendment Date after giving effect to this Amendment with the same effect as though such representations and warranties had been made on and as of the Amendment Date (it being understood that any representation or warranty made as of a specific date shall be true and correct in all material respects as of such specific date). 4. This Amendment shall become effective for all purposes on the first date (the "Amendment Date"), on and after the date that the Borrower and the Required Banks shall have signed a counterpart hereof (whether the same or different counterparts) and shall have delivered (including by way of telecopier) the same to Administrative Agent's counsel (attention: M. Irmak Canevi, Fax: (212) 354-8113). 5. This Amendment may be executed in any number of counterparts and by the different parties hereto on separate counterparts, each of which counterparts when executed and delivered shall be an original, but all of which shall together constitute one and the same instrument. A complete set of counterparts shall be lodged with the Borrower and the Administrative Agent. 8. THIS AMENDMENT AND THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES HEREUNDER SHALL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND GOVERNED BY THE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 9. From and after the Amendment Date, all references in the Credit Agreement and each of the Credit Documents to the Credit Agreement or each of the Credit Documents shall be deemed to be references to such Credit Agreement or each of the Credit Documents as amended hereby. * * * 2 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has caused a counterpart of this Amendment to be duly executed and delivered as of the date first above written. EXTENDED STAY AMERICA, INC. By: /s/ Robert A. Brannon --------------------------------------- Name: Robert A. Brannon Title: Senior Vice President MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., Individually, as Syndication Agent and as Arranger By: /s/ Michael T. McLaughlin --------------------------------------- Name: Michael T. McLaughlin Title: Principal THE INDUSTRIAL BANK OF JAPAN, LIMITED, Individually and as Administrative Agent By: /s/ Takuya Honjo --------------------------------------- Name: Takuya Honjo Title: Senior Vice President 3 BALANCED HIGH YIELD FUND I, LTD., c/o BHF-BANK AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT Acting through its New York Branch as attorney-in-fact By: /s/ John Sykes ----------------------------------- Name: John Sykes Title: Vice President By: /s/ Tony Heyman ----------------------------------- Name: Tony Heyman Title: AVP BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI TRUST COMPANY By: /s/ Brian S. Dossie ----------------------------------- Name: Brian S. Dossie Title: Assistant Vice President BANK ONE, KENTUCKY, NA By: ----------------------------------- Name: Title: BANKBOSTON, NA By: /s/ Renee A. Ross ----------------------------------- Name: Renee A. Ross Title: Managing Director BANKERS TRUST COMPANY By: ----------------------------------- Name: Title: 4 BEAR STEARNS INVESTMENT PRODUCTS, INC. By: ----------------------------------- Name: Title: BLACK DIAMOND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC c/o TORONTO DOMINION TX, INC. By: ----------------------------------- Name: Title: CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE By: /s/ Karen Volk ----------------------------------- Name: Karen Volk Title: Authorized Signatory CAPTIVA III FINANCE, LTD. c/o PACIFIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CO. By: PIMCO Management Inc., a general partner By: /s/ Richard M. Weil ---------------------------------- Name: Richard M. Weil Title: Senior Vice President 5 CHANG HWA COMMERCIAL BANK, LTD., NEW YORK BRANCH By: ----------------------------------- Name: Title: CHEVY CHASE BANK, FSB By: ----------------------------------- Name: Title: COMPAGNIE FINANCIERE DE CIC ET DE L'UNION EUROPEENE By: /s/ Marcus Edward ----------------------------------- Name: Marcus Edward Title: Vice President By: /s/ Sean Mounier ----------------------------------- Name: Sean Mounier Title: First Vice President DELANO COMPANY By PACIFIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY, as its Investment Advisor By: PIMCO Management Inc., a general partner By: /s/ Richard M. Weil ----------------------------------- Name: Richard M. Weil Title: Senior Vice President 6 ERSTE BANK DER OESTERREICHISCHEN SPARKASSENAG By: /s/ Paul Judicke ----------------------------------- Name: Paul Judicke Title: Vice President By: /s/ John S. Runnio ----------------------------------- Name: John S. Runnio Title: First Vice President FIRST COMMERCIAL BANK By: /s/ June Shiong Lu ----------------------------------- Name: June Shiong Lu Title: SVP & General Manager FLOATING RATE PORTFOLIO c/o INVESCO SENIOR SECURED MANAGEMENT By: /s/ Kathleen A. Lenarcic ----------------------------------- Name: Kathleen A. Lenarcic Title: Authorized Signatory HELLER FINANCIAL, INC. By: /s/ Linda W. Wolf ----------------------------------- Name: Linda W. Wolf Title: Senior Vice President IMPERIAL BANK By: /s/ Steven K. Johnson ----------------------------------- Name: Steven K. Johnson Title: Senior Vice President 7 KZH III LLC By: /s/ Virginia Conway ------------------------------- Name: Virginia Conway Title: Authorized Agent KZH ING-2 LLC By: /s/ Virginia Conway ------------------------------- Name: Virginia Conway Title: Authorized Agent KZH-PAMCO LLC By: ------------------------------- Name: Title: LAND BANK OF TAIWAN By: ------------------------------- Name: Title: LEHMAN COMMERCIAL PAPER INC. By: ------------------------------- Name: Title: 8 MANUFACTURERS AND TRADERS TRUST COMPANY By: /s/ R. Buford Sears ------------------------------- Name: R. Buford Sears Title: Administrative Vice President MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED By: /s/ Benjamin W. Lau ------------------------------- Name: Benjamin W. Lau Title: Authorized Signatory ML CLO XIX STERLING (CAYMAN) LTD. c/o STERLING ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC By: ------------------------------- Name: Title: ML CLO XX PILGRIM AMERICA (CAYMAN), LTD. c/o PILGRIM AMERICA INVESTMENTS, INC. By: ------------------------------- Name: Title: 9 MOUNTAIN CLO TRUST By: ------------------------------- Name: Title: ORIX USA CORPORATION By: /s/ Mr. Charles Kobayashi ------------------------------ Name: Mr. Charles Kobayashi Title: Vice President & Manager PAM CAPITAL FUNDING, LP c/o PROTECTIVE ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY By: ------------------------------- Name: Title: SENIOR DEBT PORTFOLIO c/o BOSTON MANAGEMENT RESEARCH By: /s/ Scott H. Page ------------------------------ Name: Scott H. Page Title: Vice President SUMMIT BANK By: ------------------------------- Name: Title: 10 THE DEVELOPMENT BANK OF SINGAPORE, LTD. By: ------------------------------- Name: Title: THE LONG TERM CREDIT BANK OF JAPAN, LTD. By: /s/ Thomas Meyer ------------------------------- Name: Thomas Meyer Title: Senior Vice President THE SUMITOMO BANK, LIMITED By: ------------------------------- Name: Title: TORONTO DOMINION TX, INC. By: ------------------------------- Name: Title: 11 RZB FINANCE LLC By: /s/ John A. Valiska ----------------------------- Name: John A. Valiska Title: Vice President By: /s/ Pearl Geffers ----------------------------- Name: Pearl Geffers Title: Vice President 12 ANNEX I ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND AGREEMENT ----------------------------- Each of the undersigned, each being a Subsidiary Guarantor on the Amendment Date (including each Subsidiary of the Borrower which was a Subsidiary Guarantor immediately before the Amendment Date and each Subsidiary of the Borrower which becomes a Subsidiary Guarantor on the Amendment Date) hereby acknowledges and agrees to the provisions of the foregoing Amendment, and hereby agrees for the benefit of the Banks that all references in the Credit Documents to the "Credit Agreement" shall be deemed to be a reference to the Credit Agreement as amended by this Amendment. ESA 0100, INC. ESA 0102, INC. ESA 0106, INC. ESA 0115, INC. ESA 0121, INC. ESA 0123, INC. 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ESA WEST, INC. ESA INTERNATIONAL, INC. STUDIO PLUS HOTELS, INC. STUDIO PLUS PROPERTIES, INC. By ------------------------------------ Name: Title: On behalf of each Subsidiary Guarantor listed above 7