IHR Interstate Hotels & Resorts,

ARLINGTON, Va., May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Interstate Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:IHR), the nation's largest independent hotel management company, today announced that Christopher L. Bennett has been named executive vice president and general counsel. Bennett served as senior vice president and general counsel of Interstate and its predecessor companies since 1998 and of MeriStar Hospitality Corporation, a hotel real estate investment trust (REIT), between 1998 and 2003, when the two companies concluded their paper-clip REIT relationship. In his new position, Bennett is responsible for overseeing the company's legal and human resources departments. "Chris has played a key role at Interstate during a critical period of our company's history that included three major mergers and significant growth," said Thomas F. Hewitt, chief executive officer. "In addition to leading us through a number of very complex legal issues, Chris has assumed the additional responsibility of overseeing our human resources department, which encompasses some 32,000 associates worldwide. In his eight years with Interstate, Chris has proven to be an invaluable asset to our management team and has consistently provided strong leadership and insightful counsel." Prior to joining Interstate, Bennett was an associate with the law firms of Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine and Thacher Proffitt & Wood, both in New York. Interstate Hotels & Resorts operates nearly 300 hospitality properties with more than 65,000 rooms in 41 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and Russia. BridgeStreet Worldwide, an Interstate Hotels & Resorts' subsidiary, is one of the world's largest corporate housing providers. BridgeStreet and its network of Global Partners offer more than 8,900 corporate apartments located in more than 90 MSAs throughout the United States and internationally. For more information about Interstate Hotels & Resorts, visit the company's Web site: http://www.ihrco.com/. This press release contains "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, about Interstate Hotels & Resorts, including those statements regarding future operating results and the timing and composition of revenues, among others, and statements containing words such as "expects," "believes" or "will," which indicate that those statements are forward-looking. Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially, including the volatility of the national economy, economic conditions generally and the hotel and real estate markets specifically, the aftermath of the war with Iraq, international and geopolitical difficulties or health concerns, governmental actions, legislative and regulatory changes, availability of debt and equity capital, interest rates, competition, weather conditions or natural disasters, supply and demand for lodging facilities in our current and proposed market areas, and the company's ability to manage integration and growth. Additional risks are discussed in Interstate Hotels & Resorts' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Interstate Hotels & Resorts' annual report on Form 10-K as amended for the year ended December 31, 2004. Contact: Jerry Daly, Carol McCune (media) Daly Gray Public Relations (703) 435-6293 DATASOURCE: Interstate Hotels & Resorts CONTACT: Jerry Daly or Carol McCune for Interstate Hotels & Resorts, +1-703-435-6293 or Web site: http://www.ihrco.com/

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