TAMPA, Fla., Officials of eSuites Hotels, a new concept hotel brand that will launch later this year, today announced that Bryan D. Langton C.B.E., an international hotel industry leader, has joined the company as vice chairman. He will provide advice and counsel to support the rapid growth of eSuites Hotels, including corporate culture design and implementation, brand launch design, brand management, marketing and PR, corporate budgeting and other related corporate functions.

Langton is the former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Holiday Inns, Inc., responsible for supervising all worldwide operations, and innovating and launching the Holiday Inn Express brand. He negotiated the 1990 purchase of Holiday Inns Inc. by Bass PLC, and prior to his retirement from the company in 1996, initiated merger discussions between Bass and InterContinental Hotel Group. During his tenure at Bass, he also served as chairman of Crest Hotels, chairman of Toby Restaurants and chairman and CEO of Holiday Inns International in Europe. Previously, Langton was chairman of the board of Fairfield Communities, a publicly held vacation ownership company, and was responsible for the company's sale to Cendant Corporation.

"Bryan is a business legend and one of the most highly regarded hospitality executives in the U.S. and abroad," said Jerry Ellenburg, eSuites Hotels' chairman. "With more than four decades of hotel industry experience and particular expertise in international markets, as well as hands-on experience creating and launching the Holiday Inn Express brand, he will be an invaluable resource for us as we launch the unique eSuites Hotels brand.

"Along with the recent appointment of Sam Winterbottom as CEO, we have added more than 60 years of hospitality expertise of the highest caliber," he said.

Langton serves on the board of directors of Bass PLC and is a former external director of Wachovia Bank Georgia and former director of National Service Industries. He was appointed a Commander of the British Empire for his services to the European hotel industry and is a Corporate Hotelier of the World, an honor bestowed upon him by Hotels magazine for his outstanding contributions to the industry. He is the chairman of the Florida West Coast Symphony and an advisor at the University of South Florida.

Based in Tampa, Fla., eSuites Hotels is a new concept hotel that will break ground on its first hotels later this year.

Jerry Daly
703/435-6293
eSuites Hotels