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Prime Hospitality Corp. Enters Management Agreement for 24 AmeriSuites and 12 Prime Hotels Prime Launches Prime Hotels & Resorts Into a National Brand FAIRFIELD, N.J., Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Prime Hospitality Corp. , announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Hospitality Properties Trust for management of 24 AmeriSuites hotels and to manage and re-brand 12 additional hotels into the Prime Hotels & Resorts family under a combined contract. The 24 AmeriSuites hotels encompass the hotels that Prime had defaulted on in lease payments to HPT on July 1, 2003. Prime has continued to manage these hotels throughout negotiations. The 12 hotels being converted to the Prime Hotels & Resorts brand were previously leased by Wyndham International, Inc. (AMEX:WBR) until default on April 1, 2003. Afterwards, HPT terminated Wyndham's occupancy and assigned management to a third party. The management agreement covers all 36 hotels and will run for 15 years with Prime having two consecutive renewal options of 15 years each for all hotels. The 36 hotels contain 5,250 rooms and are located in 19 states. The agreement between Prime and HPT is effective on January 1, 2004 and February 1, 2004, for AmeriSuites and Prime Hotels & Resorts respectively. A listing of these hotels including locations, number of rooms and available meeting space is attached hereto. As part of the agreement, HPT will receive an owner's priority return on $26 million/year plus a share of operating results from these hotels. Payment of royalty and management fees due to Prime will be subordinated to the priority return of HPT, and payment of the $26 million/year priority return will be guaranteed by Prime under a limited guarantee. Also, as part of the agreement, HPT will provide $25 million during the first two years to pay for re-branding and other capital improvements, primarily for the 12 hotels converting to Prime Hotels & Resorts. "The fact that we were not only able to maintain the management and brand affiliation of the 24 AmeriSuites, but add 12 Prime Hotels & Resorts franchises shows our commitment to our brands. In addition, we are pleased to continue our relationship with HPT and appreciate their significant investment in our brand strategy," said A.F. Petrocelli, Chairman & CEO of Prime. "With 15 Prime Hotels now scheduled for conversion next year along with the one currently open, we have begun to grow this new brand on a national scale." Prime Hospitality Corp. is one of the nation's premiere lodging companies. Inclusive to this agreement, Prime owns, manages and franchises more than 260 hotels throughout North America. The Company owns and operates three proprietary brands that compete in different segments: AmeriSuites(R) (all-suites), Wellesley Inns & Suites(R) (limited-service) and Prime Hotels & Resorts (full-service). Also within its portfolio are owned and/or managed hotels operated under franchise agreements with national hotel chains including Hilton, Radisson, Sheraton, Holiday Inn and Ramada. Prime can be accessed over the internet at http://www.primehospitality.com/. Statements in this press release, other than statements of historical information, may constitute forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe", "anticipate", "project", "expect", "intends", "may result", "will continue", and words of similar impact identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks which may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to differ materially from expected results. These risks include but are not limited to changes in economic conditions, supply and demand changes for hotel rooms, competition within the lodging industry, relationships with owners, franchisees and suppliers, the impact of government regulations, the availability of capital, the ability to attract and retain personnel and the impact of emerging technologies. Prime undertakes no obligation to update the information set forth herein. For further information regarding forward-looking statements and to some of the factors and uncertainties affecting us, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) copies of which are available from the SEC or may be obtained upon request from the Company. LISTING OF 24 AMERISUITES HOTELS OWNED BY HPT: Location No. of Suites Meeting Space Tempe, AZ 125 1,600 sq.ft. Tucson, AZ 122 1,600 Colorado Springs, CO 126 1,586 Orlando, FL 135 1,600 Tampa, FL 59 2,500 Atlanta, GA 135 1,600 Gwinnett, GA 125 1,586 Smyrna, GA 125 1,612 Fort Wayne, IN 122 1,222 Indianapolis, IN 135 1,586 Overland Park, KS 135 1,586 Utica, MI 124 1,600 Kansas City, MO 135 1,586 Mt. Laurel, NJ 125 1,600 Charlotte, NC 124 1,580 Pine Knoll Shores, NC 111 780 Columbus, OH 125 1,586 Hendersonville, TN 100 1,612 Austin, TX 122 1,586 Dallas, TX 125 1,600 El Paso, TX 113 1,586 San Antonio Riverwalk, TX 132 2,028 Chantilly, VA 124 1,200 Sterling, VA 135 1,600 24 hotels in 13 states 2,929 suites 38,022 sq.ft. LISTING OF 12 HOTELS OWNED BY HPT WHICH WILL BE RE-BRANDED AS PRIME HOTELS & RESORTS: Location No. of rooms Meeting Space Chandler, AZ 159 2,050 sq.ft. North Phoenix, AZ 166 2,318 Phoenix Airport, AZ 210 2,895 San Diego, CA 180 4,095 Sunnyvale, CA 180 2,200 Atlanta, GA 143 2,200 Naperville, IL 143 2,292 Bloomington, MN 209 5,532 Nashville, TN 190 3,620 Salt Lake City, UT 381 15,000 Bothell, WA 166 4,095 Seattle, WA 204 4,227 12 hotels in 8 states 2,321 rooms 48,229 sq.ft. All of the Prime Hotels & Resorts have restaurants, exercise areas, pools, and other full service amenities. Total all hotels: 36 hotels in 19 states with 5,250 rooms and 86,251 sq.ft. of meeting space. DATASOURCE: Prime Hospitality Corp. CONTACT: Public and Investor contact: Richard Hulnick, +1-973-808-7760, Web site: http://www.primehospitality.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/155593, 133400.html

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