EXHIBIT 99.1
[ARLINGTON HOSPITALITY, INC. LETTERHEAD]
For Immediate Release
CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT:
James B. Dale, Chief Financial Officer Jerry Daly or Carol McCune
847-228-5401 x 361 703-435-6293
jimdale@arlingtonhospitality.com jerry@dalygray.com
ARLINGTON HOSPITALITY, INC. ANNOUNCES NOVEMBER 2003 OPERATING RESULTS AND
RECENT HOTEL DEVELOPMENT AND SALES ACTIVITY
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., December 19, 2003--Arlington Hospitality, Inc.
(Nasdaq/NM: HOST), a hotel development and management company, today announced
November 2003 operating results for 54 AmeriHost Inn hotels in which the company
has, or had, an ownership interest and which have been opened at least 13
months, as of November 30, 2003. As previously announced in November, the
company sold a wholly owned AmeriHost Inn hotel located in Parkersburg South, W.
Va., and a joint venture in which the company is a partner sold a Days Inn hotel
located in New Philadelphia, Ohio.
Arlington is the nation's largest owner and franchisee of AmeriHost Inn
hotels, operating 57 AmeriHost Inn hotels. Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD) is the
franchisor of the AmeriHost Inn brand, a mid-market, limited service hotel brand
with 103 properties located in 22 states and Canada.
OPERATING RESULTS
Same-room revenue per available room (RevPAR) in November 2003 decreased
0.1 percent to $28.79, compared to November 2002. Occupancy decreased 0.4
percent to 50.9 percent, and average daily rate (ADR) increased slightly to
$56.58. These same-room statistics
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include the operation of AmeriHost Inn hotels that were open during both periods
presented.
Eleven Twelve Months
Ended Months Ended
November 30 November 30 November 30 November 30
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Occupancy -- 2003 50.9% 55.1% 57.8% 56.6%
Occupancy -- 2002 51.1% 55.1% 57.9% 56.9%
Increase (decrease) (0.4%) 0.0% (0.2%) (0.5%)
Average Daily Rate -- 2003 $56.58 $57.22 $57.32 $57.14
Average Daily Rate -- 2002 $56.40 $56.93 $57.45 $57.21
Increase (decrease) 0.3% 0.5% (0.2%) (0.1%)
RevPAR -- 2003 $28.79 $31.55 $33.12 $32.33
RevPAR -- 2002 $28.80 $31.36 $33.27 $32.56
Increase (decrease) (0.1%) 0.6% (0.5%) (0.8%)
According to Smith Travel Research, preliminary results for November
2003 indicate that RevPAR for the midscale without food and beverage segment of
the lodging industry will be up between 2 and 4 percent, compared to November
2002. "Our AmeriHost Inn revenues on a same room basis over the last five months
have been holding relatively consistent with the prior year. We continue to
focus on our revenue enhancement programs and our cost control initiatives,"
said Jerry H. Herman, president and chief executive officer.
HOTEL DEVELOPMENT
Thus far in 2003, Arlington Hospitality has completed construction and
opened three wholly owned AmeriHost Inn hotels and one AmeriHost Inn hotel for a
joint venture in which the company is a minority partner. Currently, the company
has one 79-room AmeriHost Inn
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hotel under construction in Weirton, W.Va., for a joint venture in which the
company has a minority ownership interest. In addition, the company has several
other projects in the due diligence or pre-construction development stage,
including a site near Columbus, Ohio's airport, a site in Lansing, Michigan and
several sites in California.
For more information regarding joint venture opportunities, turnkey
development services, as well as information on all of the company's hotels,
contact Stephen Miller via email at stevem@arlingtonhospitality.com, or by
telephone at (847) 228-5401, ext. 312.
HOTEL ASSET SALES
As previously announced, in July 2003 the company implemented a plan for
the disposition of 25 to 30 hotels, expected to be completed over a two-year
period, in order to reduce debt, increase cash flow, accelerate fees from the
company's relationship with Cendant, and provide capital for future hotel
development.
Arlington has engaged the brokerage firm of Thompson Calhoun Fair to
assist in the sale of most of these hotels. Information on Arlington's hotels
being brokered for sale by Thompson Calhoun Fair can be found at
www.tcfhotels.com, or by calling Mark Fair at (404) 995-8970. Including the two
properties sold in November, three hotels have been sold since the close of the
third quarter. The mortgage debt from these three hotels in the amount of
approximately $4.1 million was paid off upon the sale of these hotels. The
company will include the results of these sales in its fourth quarter 2003
financial statements.
Year to date, including these sales, the company has sold eight wholly
owned AmeriHost Inn hotels generating net hotel sales proceeds of approximately
$22.9 million. In addition, the
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company facilitated the sale of three hotels owned by joint ventures in which
the company was a partner, including one AmeriHost Inn and two non-AmeriHost Inn
hotels. As a result of the sale of the eight wholly owned hotels and the sale of
two hotels owned by joint ventures which were consolidated in the company's
financial statements, the company has reduced its mortgage debt by approximately
$16.5 million.
Currently, the company has one hotel under contract for sale, which is
expected to be consummated within the next six months. When the company has
hotels under contract for sale, even with nonrefundable cash deposits in certain
cases, certain conditions to closing remain, and there can be no assurance that
these sales will be consummated as anticipated.
The revenue and profit/loss from the sale of hotels, as well as the
reduction of debt, will be reported in the company's financial statements during
the quarter in which the sale transactions close. Furthermore, the amounts
described above from sales transactions do not represent guidance on, or
forecasts of, the results of the company's entire consolidated operations, which
are reported on a quarterly basis.
ABOUT ARLINGTON HOSPITALITY
Arlington Hospitality, Inc. is a hotel development and management
company that builds, operates and sells mid-market hotels, primarily the
AmeriHost Inn brand. Currently, Arlington Hospitality, Inc. owns or manages 64
properties in 17 states, including 57 AmeriHost Inn hotels, for a total of 4,655
rooms, with additional AmeriHost Inn & Suites hotels under development. The
AmeriHost Inn brand is a mid-market, limited service hotel brand with 103
properties located in 22 states and Canada.
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This press release may contain forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical, including
statements regarding management's intentions, beliefs, expectations,
representations, plans or predictions of the future, and are typically
identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend,"
"estimate," "may," "will," "should," and "could." There are numerous risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
set forth in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of these factors,
see the Company's report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2003
under the section headed "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations-Factors Affecting Future Performance."