2008’s Most Important Deals and Leaders Honored at ALIS Conference

San Diego, During today’s awards luncheon at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), four of hospitality’s most significant executives and deals were honored with prestigious ALIS Awards. This year’s winners included:

• Jackson Hsieh, managing director and global head of real estate, lodging & leisure group, UBS Investment Bank, was honored with the 2008 Jack A. Shaffer Financial Advisor of the Year Award.
  
  
• The 1,594-room Fontainebleau Miami Beach (Miami, Florida), which was developed at a cost of approximately $1 billion by Fontainebleau Resorts, LLC., earned the honor of 2008 Development of the Year.
  
  
• The purchase of the 726-room Hyatt Regency Century Plaza (Los Angeles, California) by Next Century Associates, LLC, a joint venture of Woodbridge Capital Partners and D.E. Shaw Group, from Sunstone Century Star, LLC., and Sunstone Century Star Lessee, Inc., was named 2008 Single Asset Transaction of the Year. The transaction was for $366.5 million, or approximately $504,821 per room.
  
  
• Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group’s acquisition of Harrah’s Entertainment for approximately $28 billion received the 2008 Merger & Acquisition of the Year Award.

Winners were determined by vote of the ALIS conference sponsors. Other honorees during the 2009 ALIS conference include J.W. Marriott, Jr., chairman and CEO of Marriott International, Inc., who received the 2009 International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) Pioneer Award, and Horst Schulze, president/CEO of the West Paces Hotel Group, honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his remarkable accomplishments in the founding and growth of the successful The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and throughout his career.

Proceeds from the ALIS conference benefit the educational, research, and training missions of the Educational Institute (EI) of the American Hotel & Lodging Education Foundation (AH&LEF), AH&LA’s not-for-profit affiliate. For general event information and sponsor opportunities, contact Jonathon Zink, BHN conference manager, at (714) 540-9300 or [email protected], or visit the ALIS Website at . For information on the AH&LA or AH&LEF, visit www.ahla.com. Press interested in more information on ALIS are invited to contact Jessica Soklow, AH&LA media relations manager, at .

Serving the hospitality industry for nearly a century, AH&LA is the sole national association representing all sectors and stakeholders in the lodging industry, including individual hotel property members, hotel companies, student and faculty members, and industry suppliers. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AH&LA provides members with national advocacy on Capitol Hill, public relations and image management, education, research and information, and other value-added services to provide bottom line savings and ensure a positive business climate for the lodging industry. Partner state associations provide local representation and additional cost-saving benefits to members.

AH&LEF is the charitable fund-raising and endowed fund-management subsidiary of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Founded in 1953, AH&LEF is the premier organization for scholarships, professional certification, and instructional material as well as funding for hospitality industry research.

With more than two decades of experience and over 70 events completed to date, BHN is the worldwide leader in developing and organizing conferences for the hotel and tourism investment community. BHN conferences have become “must attend” events for industry leaders who come together to network, conduct business, and to learn about the latest trends. In addition to ALIS, BHN events include: the Central America Tourism & Hotel Investment Exchange (CATHIE) taking place in Managua in 2009; the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) taking place in Bermuda in 2009; Digital Discovery Day (D3) in New York; the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) in Hong Kong; the Hotel Investment Forum India (HIFI) in Mumbai; and the PATA CEO Challenge in Bangkok. The BHN Website at www.burba.com is the gateway for information about the conferences BHN produces, as well as a direct link to important players in the hospitality investment world.