AHT Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc

Acquisition Highlights: DALLAS, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AHT) announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the 225- room Marriott at Research Triangle Park in Durham, NC, from Host Marriott Corporation for $28.0 million in cash. The purchase price, on a pro-forma basis excluding incentive management fees that would not be payable by Ashford and using a 5% FF&E reserve, equates to a 10.0x trailing twelve-month EBITDA multiple, an EBITDA yield of 10.0% and a trailing twelve-month net operating income capitalization rate of 8.2%. The property generated revenues of $9.8 million on a trailing twelve month basis. The acquisition is expected to close in February 2006. Opened in 1988, the Marriott at Research Triangle Park has 225 rooms, 4,252 square feet of meeting space and two food and beverage facilities. The hotel has land available for an expansion opportunity to the function space. The hotel also benefits from its close proximity to Research Triangle Park, a 7,000-acre office park limited to organizations in research, development and scientifically-oriented production. The park is closely tied to the three major research universities of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University in Durham and North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Research Triangle Park has over 100 research and development organizations employing over 38,000 people. The Marriott at Research Triangle Park completed a $2.5 million renovation in 2002 of the guestrooms and bathrooms, which included the replacement of softgoods and casegoods. Ashford will invest an additional $5.7 million over a two-year period to renovate the lobby, restaurant, function space, guest corridors, guestrooms and bathrooms. Remington Lodging & Hospitality, L.P. will assume management of the property. Monty J. Bennett, President and CEO of Ashford Hospitality Trust, said, "The Research Triangle Park has been an important component of economic growth in the region for many years. With the strong Marriott brand and an excellent location in close proximity to both the Park and the Raleigh-Durham Airport, this asset is well positioned to capture more than its share of the RevPAR growth this market enjoys. Our planned renovation will also enhance our ability to continue to drive rate growth at the property, while an intense focus on improving operating margins and exploring the opportunity to expand the meeting space in the future should make the Marriott at Research Triangle Park a very compelling investment for Ashford." Ashford Hospitality Trust is a self-administered real estate investment trust focused on investing in the hospitality industry across all segments and at all levels of the capital structure, including direct hotel investments, first mortgages, mezzanine loans and sale-leaseback transactions. Additional information can be found on the Company's web site at http://www.ahtreit.com/. Certain statements and assumptions in this press release contain or are based upon "forward-looking" information and are being made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. When we use the words "will likely result," "may," "anticipate," "estimate," "should," "expect," "believe," "intend," or similar expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the forward EBITDA multiple, the forward income capitalization rate, the forward EBITDA yield, the expectation that the transaction will close in February 2006, the impact of the transaction on our business and future financial condition, our business and investment strategy, our understanding of our competition and current market trends and opportunities and projected capital expenditures. Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside Ashford's control. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, without limitation: general volatility of the capital markets and the market price of our common stock; changes in our business or investment strategy; availability, terms and deployment of capital; availability of qualified personnel; changes in our industry and the market in which we operate, interest rates or the general economy; and the degree and nature of our competition. These and other risk factors are more fully discussed in Ashford's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. EBITDA is defined as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA yield is defined as trailing twelve month EBITDA divided by the purchase price. A capitalization rate is determined by dividing the property's annual net operating income by the purchase price. Net operating income is the property's funds from operations minus a capital expense reserve of 5% of gross revenues. Funds from operations ("FFO"), as defined by the White Paper on FFO approved by the Board of Governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT") in April 2002, represents net income (loss) computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), excluding gains (or losses) from sales or properties and extraordinary items as defined by GAAP, plus depreciation and amortization of real estate assets, and net of adjustments for the portion of these items related to unconsolidated entities and joint ventures. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We are not obligated to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances, changes in expectations or otherwise. First Call Analyst: FCMN Contact: DATASOURCE: Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. CONTACT: Douglas Kessler, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Acquisitions of Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc., +1-972-490-9600; or Tripp Sullivan of Corporate Communications, Inc., +1-615-254-3376 Web site: http://www.ahtreit.com/

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