Hispanic Hotel Owners Association Members Developing Rapidly

Have Acquired or Began Development on 48 Projects in Last 12 Months

WASHINGTON, July 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hispanic Hotel Owners Association
(HHOA), a rapidly growing non-profit organization that seeks to increase
Latino ownership of hotels, today announced that its members have either
acquired or began development on 48 hotels in the past 12 months. The
organization has more than 300 members and continues to attract both existing
and potential Hispanic hotel owners and investors at a rapid pace.
"Obviously, this has been an untapped market," said Angela Gonzalez-Rowe,
founder and president of the Hispanic Hotel Owners Association. "Because
hotels arguably are the most complex real estate class, investment can be
quite intimidating. Through our Hotel Investment Series, we have been able to
attract more than 115 Hispanics who have the financial strength and want to
learn more about the investment opportunities in the industry. Many are
invested in other segments of hospitality, such as restaurants, and this is a
natural extension for them."
Of the 48 new Hispanic-owned, 12 have been through acquisitions and 34 are
hotels in development. More than 80 percent are branded properties. The
hotels range from the limited-service to luxury segments.
"When HHOA was founded, we could identify less than 1 percent of hotels in
the U.S. that were Hispanic-owned," she pointed out. "In less than two years,
that number has increased dramatically. We are on target with our goal of
having at least 500 Latino-owned, U.S. hotels by 2011.
"Our members are developing in urban, suburban and resort locations," she
noted. "In many cases, they are pioneering new locations. For example, the
Finvarb Group, which has four hotels in development, broke ground on the first
Hispanic-owned hotel in Washington, D.C."
HHOA's Hotel Investment Series offers three separate tracks, ranging from
introduction to hotels to advanced investment strategies. The organization
works closely with many of the leading brands, including Hilton Hotels
Corporation, Marriott International, Choice Hotels International, Wyndham
Worldwide Corporation, IHG, Accor North America, Carlson, LaQuinta and Global
Hyatt Corporation, all of whom are sponsors. The organization will hold its
first annual Hotel, Development and Investment Conference, October 8-10 at the
Doral Resort and Spa in Miami, Fla.
About HHOA
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., HHOA is a non-profit organization whose
mission is to increase the number of Hispanic-owned, -developed and -operated
hotels, further the participation of Hispanic-owned suppliers serving the
hotel industry and increase executive level employment opportunities for
Hispanics within the lodging industry.
HHOA membership is open to hotel owners, developers, investors,
financiers, real estate executives, investment bankers, professional advisors,
analysts, franchisors, management company executives, industry product and
service providers, hotel general managers, hotel sales and marketing managers,
government agencies for tourism and development, hospitality schools,
hospitality students or anyone seeking to do business within the Hispanic
market.
Additional information about HHOA is available at the association's Web
site, www.hhoa.org. To learn more about the Hotel Investment Series, contact
Angela Gonzales-Rowe at 202-587-5707, or www.hhoa.org.

Contact: Jerry Daly, Chris Daly
Daly Gray Public Relations
(703) 435-6293
jerry@dalygray.com

SOURCE The Hispanic Hotel Owners Association

Jerry Daly or Chris Daly both of Daly Gray Public Relations for The Hispanic
Hotel Owners Association, +1-703-435-6293, jerry@dalygray.com