Article Excerpt:
TWST: What is Supertel Hospitality?Mr. Heimes: The original, Supertel Hospitality, Inc., had its beginning in the early 1980s, when the Founders began the development, owning and operating of Super 8 hotels in the Midwest. They continued to develop the Super 8 brand as a franchisee through 1994, when the company became publicly owned with an IPO using the stock symbol SPPR. Concurrently, a company in Maryland, Humphrey Hospitality Trust, Inc., was formed as a REIT that became publicly owned with an IPO, also in 1994, using the stock symbol HUMP. Both companies operated independently through 1999. Humphrey Hospitality was developing hotel properties along the Eastern Seaboard, and Supertel Hospitality was developing properties in the Midwest. In 1999, Supertel Hospitality, a C-Corp, determined that it would be in the best interest of their shareholders to be operating under the REIT status so as to enable the company to return dividends to its shareholders without having the double taxation of its earnings. After appropriate due diligence, the two companies determined that a merger would be appropriate and Supertel Hospitality was merged into Humphrey Hospitality Trust, Inc., the REIT that was headquartered in Columbia, Maryland. In August 2004, the corporate offices of Humphrey Hospitality were relocated from Maryland to Nebraska and a management agreement was signed with Royal Host Management to manage the company's hotels. Royal Host Management is a subsidiary of Royal Host Real Estate Investment Trust headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Then in May 2005, the shareholders adopted the name Supertel Hospitality, Inc., and the stock symbol 'SPPR.' That brings us to today where we own 70 hotels, 23 on the Eastern Seaboard and 47 in the Midwest. We own a total of 4,783 rooms and operate under seven national franchise brand names.
TWST: Give us an idea of what the marketplace looks like today in the
hospitality industry and how that impacts your own goals and
performance.
Mr. Heimes: The hospitality industry has recovered from a very difficult
period in the 2000-2001-2002 time frame. The occupancy rates are
stabilizing and are trending upward. More important, the ADR rates are
increasing as well.
Tickers included in this excerpt: SPPR
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