Ascendant Lodging Partners Makes a Strategic Investment in Ardent Hotel Advisors

Transaction to Benefit Both Companies' Clients - Organizations Will Remain
Independent

PHOENIX and SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascendant Lodging
Partners LLC, a lodging investment company, today announced that it has made a
strategic investment in Ardent Hotel Advisors, a leading hotel management
company. Ascendant is a subsidiary of Warnick + Company, an advisory firm
that specializes in the lodging and recreational real estate industries.

Jim Evans, Ardent principal and CEO, noted that Ardent's clients will benefit
from the strategic insights provided by Ascendant's partners, all of whom are
seasoned hotel experts. "This will give Ardent a substantial competitive edge
over most other third-party management companies. In addition, Ascendant will
be a significant factor in our future growth through the potential opportunity
to manage Ascendant's acquisitions."

Commenting on the transaction, David Sherf, chief investment officer of
Ascendant, added, "Our mission is value creation through ownership. We expect
to be active acquirers of hotels over the next 12 to 36 months, and Ardent
will be a trusted, passionate operator of properties we acquire, where
appropriate."

According to Rich Warnick, founder and president of Warnick + Company, all of
the parties involved have enjoyed long-standing business and personal
relationships. "We saw the synergies and felt it was a decision that makes
each of our companies stronger and more valuable to our clients."

The companies will continue to operate independently and will have both shared
and separate clients. Evans noted that Ardent will continue to seek and
obtain third-party management contracts outside of its relationship with
Ascendant. "We have experienced positive growth over the past quarter and see
that forward momentum accelerating with this transaction. We have added
management bench strength to better serve our existing clients and increase
our capacity to add new hotels to our management portfolio. We have the
people and systems in place to step into management of individual properties
or portfolios on less than 24-hour notice."

About Ascendant Lodging Partners LLC /Warnick + Company
Ascendant is a subsidiary of Phoenix-based Warnick + Company. Its
mission is to acquire under-valued lodging assets that can benefit from the
knowledge and expertise of one of the industry's most experienced teams.

Warnick + Company is a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the lodging
and recreational real estate industries. With offices in New York, Chicago,
Phoenix, and Los Angeles, the firm provides a full complement of advisory
services on a global basis, including consulting, asset management, investment
banking, and development management to investors, developers, financial
institutions, hotel companies, and government agencies. Additional
information about Warnick and Ascendant may be found at the companies' Web
sites, www.warnickco.com and www.ascendantlodging.com.

About Ardent Hotel Advisors
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Ardent Hotel Advisors is an independent,
third-party hotel management company founded by veteran hoteliers Jim Evans
and Si Sloman. In addition, the company has the capacity to acquire hotels
through joint ventures or for its own account. The company concentrates on
operating both branded and non-branded hotels and resorts of 150 rooms or more
in the upper upscale and mid-market segments. The company's expertise
includes turn-around and repositioning, sales-focused marketing, and
results-oriented operations with a high attention to detail focused on owners'
needs, and creating an associate- and guest-centric culture. The company
currently operates 10 hotels in the U.S. Additional information about the
company may be found at the company's Web site: http://www.ardenthotels.com.

Contact: Jerry Daly, Chris Daly
(703) 435-6293

SOURCE Ascendant Lodging Partners LLC

Jerry Daly, Chris Daly for Ascendant Lodging Partners LLC, +1-703-435-6293