IHR Interstate Hotels & Resorts,

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Interstate Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:IHR), the nation's largest independent hotel management company, today announced that Ronald W. Allen has been elected to its board of directors. Allen is the retired chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines, the nation's fastest growing international airline. Since his retirement in July 1997, he has acted as a consultant to and advisory director of the company. Under his leadership, Delta grew from an airline primarily serving the southeastern U.S. to an international airline offering service to more than 190 cities in 26 countries. During his tenure, he also engineered the acquisition of Western Airlines and the assets of Pan Am World Airways. At the time of Allen's departure in 1997, Delta had the lowest operating cost of any major carrier, was producing record profits, all furloughed personnel had returned to work and Delta's stock price was at an all-time high. "Ron Allen is a business legend and one of the most highly regarded executives in the nation," said Thomas F. Hewitt, Interstate's chief executive officer. "With his extensive background in a hospitality-related business, operations grounding, wealth of financial experience and expertise in international markets, he will be an invaluable resource for us as we continue to diversify our revenue sources." Allen serves on the board of directors of The Coca-Cola Company, Aaron Rents, Inc., and Aircastle. He is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology, where he received a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree. As of July 31, Interstate Hotels & Resorts operated 252 hospitality properties with more than 56,000 rooms in 40 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 10,000 corporate apartments located in more than 110 MSAs throughout the United States and internationally. For more information about Interstate Hotels & Resorts, visit the company's Web site: http://www.ihrco.com/. Contact: Carrie McIntyre Jerry Daly, Carol McCune (media) SVP, Treasurer Daly Gray Public Relations (703) 387-3320 (703) 435-6293 DATASOURCE: Interstate Hotels & Resorts CONTACT: Carrie McIntyre, SVP, Treasurer of Interstate Hotels & Resorts, +1-703-387-3320; Media: Jerry Daly, , or Carol McCune of Daly Gray Public Relations, +1-703-435-6293, both for Interstate Hotels & Resorts Web site: http://www.ihrco.com/

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