AWH Partners, LLC, Acquires 501-Room Hotel in Atlanta with Conversion to IHG Brands

Crowne Plaza® and Staybridge Suites® Hotels to Open in One Signature Midtown Atlanta Building

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. June 30, 2014

NEW YORK / ATLANTA - June 30, 2014 - AWH Partners, LLC, a privately held real estate investment, development and management firm, announces the all-cash acquisition, renovation and conversion of the former Hotel Melia in Atlanta. The 501-room hotel officially converts to the Crowne Plaza brand today and will immediately undergo a total renovation, ultimately creating a 360-room Crowne Plaza hotel. By January of 2016, AWH Partners and IHG will also open within the same building a 102-room Staybridge Suites hotel. Located in a single building in Midtown, one of the fastest-growing, more dynamic sub markets in Atlanta and adjacent to downtown, the hotels are operated by Spire Hospitality under a franchise agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)].

“As an Atlanta-based company, we are pleased to continue strong growth in our own backyard, as this deal comes on the heels of the recent signing of the metro area's third Hotel Indigo location, in downtown,” said Kirk Kinsell, IHG's (InterContinental Hotels Group) president of the Americas. “Through strong relationships with owners and operators like Spire Hospitality, IHG is able to grow our brands and welcome more guests in major markets around the world.”

“Spire Hospitality has a long-standing, successful relationship with IHG and we are thrilled to partner with them in their Americas 'hometown'. Midtown is a great place for these two tremendous brands because of the opportunity to serve the existing strong corporate and leisure transient demand as well as the significant and growing extended stay demand for this area,” says Bill DeForrest, president and CEO of Spire Hospitality. “This opportunity aligns well with our Spire growth strategy while the amount of meeting space in this new hotel complements our hotel portfolio.”

With 31,000 square feet of meeting space, three food & beverage options and two lobbies on the ground floor, the 25-story building will reduce its amount of rooms to accommodate the renovation plan. The renovations include complete guestroom, guest bath and guest corridor transformations, as well as a completely new public space layout and interior design package.

The Crowne Plaza guestrooms will feature the brand's Sleep Advantage® program, which encompasses the entire sleep experience, from training staff on how to create and maintain a restful environment to providing innovative products and services such as signature bedding and designated quiet zones. The hotel will also feature the comprehensive Crowne Plaza meetings program, which includes a two-hour response guarantee to RFPs, a dedicated meetings director and a daily meeting debrief.

Once the conversion is completed in early 2016, the six floors designated as the Staybridge Suites property will feature spacious studio and one-bedroom suites with comfortable living space including a fully equipped kitchen and a functional, well-lit workspace with a large desk. Guests can relax and socialize in the property's lobby-level Great Room or Outdoor Living Room during The Social evening receptions, held each Tuesday through Thursday, offering complimentary beer and wine and customizable entrees, fostering a sense of community within the hotel.

“AWH Partners continues to seek out and find hotel acquisitions in strong markets requiring substantial redevelopment and repositioning,” says Chad Cooley, principal of AWH Partners. “This location, building and product provide promising returns.”

Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites hotels participate in IHG's guest loyalty program, IHG® Rewards Club, which is the industry's first and largest guest loyalty program with nearly 79 million members. IHG® Rewards Club is free to join and guests can enroll at ihgrewardsclub.com, by downloading the IHG® app, by calling 1-888-211-9874 or by inquiring at the front desk of any of IHG's more than 4,700 hotels worldwide. All IHG Rewards Club members will have access to free Internet globally in 2014. The scale and diversity of the IHG family of brands means that our hotels can meet our guests' needs whatever the occasion.

For more information on AWH Partners and a full list of hotels and real estate assets, please visit www.awhpartners.com.

About AWH Partners, LLC

AWH Partners, LLC (“AWH”) is a privately held real estate investment, development and management firm formed in partnership between Russ Flicker, Jon Rosenfeld and Chad Cooley. Since 2010, AWH and its principals have completed in excess of $400 million of hotel investments, and are managing or have completed hotel redevelopment projects totaling more than $100 million. In early 2012, AWH acquired Lane Hospitality, a top-tier national hospitality platform formed in 1980, to expand AWH's capabilities in the hospitality sector by aligning its institutional investment expertise with Lane's first class operating platform and industry-leading executive team. In May of 2013, AWH rebranded Lane: Spire Hospitality. For more information, visit www.awhpartners.com.

About Spire Hospitality

Spire Hospitality, based in Chicago, Ill., is a third-party operator of hotels including unique independents and across celebrated brands such as Hilton Hotels & Resorts, (IHG) InterContinental Hotels Group and (MAR) Marriott International. Spire Hospitality offers expertise in all facets of hospitality management and is committed to preserving, protecting and enhancing the value of hotel real estate. For more information, visit www.spirehotels.com.

About Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts

Part of the IHG global portfolio, the Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts brand is a dynamic upscale hotel brand located in nearly 65 countries around the world in major urban centers, gateway cities and resort destinations. As the fourth largest upscale full-service hotel brand in the world and one of the fastest growing, the Crowne Plaza brand has a solid foundation for future growth. The portfolio has doubled since 2003 to nearly 400 hotels, and the global pipeline has increased fourfold to nearly 100 hotels. At Crowne Plaza hotels, we help our guests feel energized and productive, and our Sleep Advantage® program ensures our guests get a great night's sleep to power through their day. For reservations at Crowne Plaza properties, visit www.crowneplaza.com or call 1-877-2CROWNE. Connect with us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/crowneplaza or Facebook: www.Facebook.com/crowneplaza.



About Staybridge Suites® Hotels

Staybridge Suites® is an innovative, all-suite hotel brand designed to meet the needs of extended stay guests seeking a warm sense of community in a home-like environment that is perfect for business, relocation and vacations. Hotel amenities include: three suite types (studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom/two-bath) with fully equipped kitchens and a highly functional work area separate from living areas. Staybridge Suites hotels offer free Wireless Anywhere, a complimentary daily hot breakfast, The Social evening reception three days a week, a 24-hour Business Center, Fitness Room and Laundry Room, all of which are complimentary for guests.

The Staybridge Suites brand entered the extended stay segment in December 1998 when its flagship location in Alpharetta, Ga., opened. Since that opening, the Staybridge Suites brand continues to grow rapidly with more than 197 hotels open across the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. There are more than 83 Staybridge Suites hotels in the pipeline, including nine outside of the Americas.

The Staybridge Suites brand is the winner of numerous awards in guest satisfaction and was named as one of the 'Top 10 Brands in Customer Satisfaction' globally by Market Metrix Hospitality Index (MMHI) in Q3 and Q4 2013. The brand was named as a J.D. Power 2014 Customer Champion, one of an elite group of 50 U.S. companies named to the list.

For more information about the Staybridge Suites brand, call 1-877-238-8889 or visit www.StaybridgeSuites.com. Find Staybridge Suites hotels on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Staybridge or Facebook www.Facebook.com/StaybridgeSuites.

About IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group)

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organization with a broad portfolio of nine hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts.

IHG manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty program with nearly 79 million members worldwide. The program was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members including free internet across all hotels, globally.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,700 hotels and 688,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories, with more than 1,100 hotels in its development pipeline.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihg,www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.