Gerardo Lopez named President and Chief Executive Officer at Extended Stay America, Inc.

The Boards of Directors of Extended Stay America, Inc. and its paired-share REIT, ESH Hospitality, Inc., (NYSE:STAY) (collectively, the “Company”) today announced that they have appointed Gerardo (Gerry) Lopez to serve as the next President and Chief Executive Officer of both companies, effective August 24, 2015. Concurrently with the appointment of Mr. Lopez, the Company’s current President and CEO, Jim Donald, will transition to the role of Senior Advisor through December 31, 2015. Mr. Lopez, 56, has deep public-company experience across diverse consumer-focused industries and most recently has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. since 2009. At AMC, Mr. Lopez transformed the world’s second largest movie exhibitor, returned the company to the public market through its initial public offering in December 2013 and delivered exceptional returns to shareholders since the IPO. Prior to joining AMC, Mr. Lopez served in a variety of senior and executive roles at Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), Handleman Company, and PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE:PEP). Mr. Lopez serves on the board of directors of Brinker International (NYSE:EAT). Mr. Donald, 61, joined the Company in February 2012 and guided the Company through its initial public offering in November 2013. Mr. Donald said, “It’s been an honor and a privilege to work closely with our more than 9500 associates across the country in transforming our company. I’m delighted to pass the leadership role over to Gerry at this time. He is an outstanding leader with an excellent track record. The current Extended Stay America team, from our hotels to our Charlotte Support Center, is well prepared to continue accelerating our momentum as we near completion of our Platinum renovations, and the best years are ahead of us.”