IHR Interstate Hotels & Resorts,

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Interstate Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:IHR), a leading hotel real estate investor and the nation's largest independent operator of full- and select-service hotels, today announced that it has opened and will operate the aloft(sm) hotel Nashville- Cool Springs, in Tennessee. The 143-room, newly built hotel is owned by a joint venture in which Interstate and The John Buck Company (TJBC) of Chicago, Ill., a real estate development firm, are partners. It is the second aloft hotel developed and opened by the partnership in 2008. TJBC oversees development of the hotels for the partnership. aloft is Starwood Hotels & Resorts' premium, select-service hotel brand designed to appeal to a new generation of business and leisure travelers, featuring high design at an affordable price point, accessible technology, style and a social atmosphere. Including the Cool Springs hotel, there currently are 18 aloft hotels open in 12 states, Montreal, Canada, and Beijing, China, with another two properties slated to open by year end and more than 50 worldwide in 2009. "This is our second aloft hotel, and our 29th joint venture property this year, an area we have focused on in 2008," said Thomas F. Hewitt, Interstate's chief executive officer. "Our first aloft in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., continues to generate buzz and excitement among both business and leisure travelers, and we are delighted to be in the vanguard of developers bringing this trend-setting hotel to the traveling public." "aloft has been one of the most high profile brand launches in hotel industry history, and based on guest response, is exactly what today's savvy travelers are looking for-user-friendly technology, urban-inspired design that encourages guest interaction, great value," said Paul Novak, TJBC's managing director, hospitality division. Located at 7109 South Springs Drive, just off Interstate 65, the innovative hotel is within a half-mile of Nissan's new North American headquarters and proximate to many of Greater Nashville's most popular attractions, including the Carnton Plantation, the Factory at Franklin, Grand Ole Opry, Music Row and the Country Music Hall of Fame. The property is adjacent to D1 Sports / Training, a new state-of-the-art sports training and physical therapy facility, and the Cool Springs Galleria shopping mall. About aloft An instant hit in the development community, the aloft brand has already announced more than 90 development projects, in more than 10 countries. In 2009, the aloft brand will continue its momentum with the opening of more than 50 hotels, broadening the international footprint and domestically positioning aloft hotels in markets previously under penetrated. On schedule to open later this year are aloft hotels at the Portland and Dulles Airports and in Beijing, China and Las Colinas, Plano and Frisco, Texas. For more information on aloft hotels, visit http://www.alofthotels.com/. About The John Buck Company Founded in 1981, The John Buck Company offers comprehensive real estate services in the areas of development, finance, investment brokerage, project leasing, tenant representation, marketing and management, as well as construction for commercial, mixed-use and residential properties. The international, employee-owned firm is headquartered in Chicago. For additional information on The John Buck Company, please visit the company's website at http://www.tjbc.com/. About Interstate Hotels & Resorts Interstate Hotels & Resorts has ownership interests in 57 hotels and resorts, including seven wholly owned assets. Together with these properties, the company and its affiliates manage a total of 226 hospitality properties with more than 46,000 rooms in 36 states, the District of Columbia, Russia, Mexico, Belgium, Canada and Ireland. Interstate Hotels & Resorts also has contracts to manage 17 to be built hospitality properties with more than 4,100 rooms. 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 war in 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 for the year ended December 31, 2007. Contact: Carrie McIntyre SVP, Treasurer (703) 387-3320 DATASOURCE: Interstate Hotels & Resorts CONTACT: Carrie McIntyre, SVP, Treasurer of Interstate Hotels & Resorts, +1-703-387-3320 Web site: http://www.ihrco.com/ http://www.tjbc.com/ http://www.alofthotels.com/

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