Churchey Named to RFS Board.

Business Editors

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 31, 2000

RFS Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:RFS) today announced that Randy Churchey, president and chief operating officer of the Company, will join its Board of Directors. Churchey joined RFS in November 1999 as president. Formerly, he was senior vice president and chief financial officer of FelCor Lodging Trust.

Robert Solmson, chairman and chief executive officer of RFS, stated, "Randy is doing a great job in managing our day-to-day business. He has demonstrated both financial and operational acumen and will be a valuable addition to our Board."

RFS Hotel Investors, Inc. (RFS) is a real estate trust (REIT) that owns 62 hotels with approximately 9,000 rooms located in 24 states. RFS's hotel portfolio is diversified by geography, brand and segment. Leading brands under which RFS hotels are operated include Sheraton(R), Residence Inn by Marriott(R), Hilton(R), Doubletree(R), Holiday Inn(R), Hampton Inn(R), and Homewood Suites by Hilton(R). By segment, RFS receives approximately 41% of its lease revenues from full service hotels, 30% from extended stay hotels and 29% from limited service hotels. Additional information can be found on the Company's website at www.rfshotel.com.

Certain matters within this press release are discussed using forward-looking language as specified in the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Law, and, as such, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results or performance to differ from those projected in the forward-looking statement. From time to time, these risks are discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.