Doubletree Targets Business Traveler with New Three-Star Concept; First Club Hotel by Doubletree to Open in Jacksonville, Florida.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--January 25, 1996--At a press conference here today, Doubletree Hotels Corporation introduced a new brand targeted to the mid-market, frequent business traveler. Called Club Hotels by Doubletree, the new concept features a multi-purpose Business Club Room incorporating the office features of an airline club with the comfort of a residential den.

The new Club Hotels brand was developed by Doubletree by partnering with three well-known national brands: Steelcase Inc., Au Bon Pain restaurants and Kinko's copy centers. Club Hotels by Doubletree will market the new brand initially through property conversions and a focused franchising program.

The company will convert its hotel in Jacksonville (Fla.) to the first Club Hotel by Doubletree in May. The 167-room facility is ideally located in the Southwood Business Park, near Deerwood Business Center and the prime Osborn Convention Center. The property offers such amenities as a heated outdoor pool, whirlpool, exercise room and van transportation within a five-mile radius of the hotel.

Doubletree operates 12 properties in the state: three in Fort Lauderdale, two in Miami and Tampa, and others in Orlando, Vero Beach, Walt Disney World Village(R), and Jacksonville.

Club Hotels by Doubletree is the only new high-end, three-star hotel concept that focuses first on conversion, to be followed later by new construction. "Many of the hotels built in the '70s and '80s no longer meet the needs of today's business traveler," said Richard M. Kelleher, Doubletree president and CEO. "The Club Hotel concept allows an owner to create a fresh, new product usually from existing floor space at a reasonable cost."

Located just off the hotel lobby, the 2,000- to 5,000-square foot Business Club room will function as a business center, a lounge area and a restaurant, all under one roof.

One section of the multi-use Club room will be a dedicated, Kinko's self-service business center, complete with computer printers, fax machines, photo copiers and office and shipping supplies.

The Business Club also will be the site of the hotel's food service operation, an Au Bon Pain Bakery Cafe, where guests will be able to enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner fare. Au Bon Pain is a national chain of eateries featuring light entrees that include homemade soups, salads and hot and cold sandwiches. It is the restaurant company's first association with a national hotel company.

"This groundbreaking alliance with Doubletree Hotels represents an exciting fulfillment of our major strategic initiative to leverage brand awareness among our business customers via outlets in new venues, operated by a high-quality growth partner," stated Louis Kane, co-founder and co-chairman, Au Bon Pain, Inc. "The partnership with Doubletree Hotels, which shares the quality-oriented operating philosophy of Au Bon Pain, will be an exciting growth vehicle for each of us," said Sam Yong, Au Bon Pain president international and franchise.

The Business Club also will feature up to three, private mini-offices and a small conference room designed by Steelcase Inc. "Doubletree's Club Hotel concept captures the essence of what it means to support today's 'knowledge workers' when they're on the road," said Christine Albertini, general manager of Steelcase On the Road. "Understanding how, when and where the business traveler works helped us create a solution that enables the frequent business traveler to comfortably and effectively integrate work and leisure."

The six-by-eight-foot, self-contained Personal Harbor(R) workspaces include a desk, a CD player, bookshelves, access to electrical outlets and modem ports, and a sliding door that closes for privacy. Each Business Club also will have a mini-conference room to accommodate group meetings of up to six people. Comfortable seating areas for more informal meetings or relaxing will be scattered throughout the Club room. Access to electrical outlets and modem ports will be available throughout the Club room as well.

"These services are often provided for a fee at four-star hotels but, until now, have not been available to the three-star business traveler," Kelleher added. "While guests will still have the option of working in their rooms, Club Hotels by Doubletree offers a level of business services not typically found at other three-star properties."

The Business Club will be open 24 hours a day to offer business services to travelers when they need them. Food service at the properties will be available from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Currently, Doubletree has 13 hotels in the three-and-a-half-star category, the majority of which the company expects will convert to the Club brand. The company anticipates the remainder will upgrade to the Doubletree Hotel brand.

Doubletree will manage the Jacksonville, Fla. property and up to 25 percent of the brand's new development properties. The remainder will be franchised.

Typical room rates will range between $50 and $70. Occupancies are expected to exceed the three-star segment.

"With Club Hotels by Doubletree, we've created a turnkey operation that gives a potential owner or franchisee the whole package for one price," added Kelleher. "Steelcase provides all the furnishings, Au Bon Pain provides the food and beverage, Kinko's provides the business services and Doubletree provides the high quality service that our guests have come to expect. It's a great combination of proven products and brands where the sum of the parts will be greater than the whole."

Doubletree Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Phoenix, is one of the nation's largest hotel management companies, with more than 115 hotels in 32 states, the District of Columbia and Mexico. Doubletree branded properties currently extend into two markets: Doubletree Hotels, upscale, first-class, full-service hotels; Doubletree Guest Suites, first-class, full-service, all-suite hotels; and now, Club Hotels by Doubletree, three-star hotels. Doubletree Hotels Corporation is the exclusive franchiser of Doubletree brands and also manages a variety of other properties under independent or internationally franchised flags.

Through a joint venture partnership, Doubletree Corporation is a 50 percent owner of Candlewood Hotels, a recently launched, moderately priced, extended-stay hotel chain. In December 1995, Doubletree signed an agreement to acquire RFS, Inc., a company which leases and manages 49 hotels owned by RFS Hotel Investors, Inc.

CONTACT: Doubletree Hotels Corporation

David Trumble, 602/220-6822