La Quinta Inns, Inc.

Company Description

La Quinta Inns, Inc. was founded in San Antonio, Texas in 1968. The first hotel was built across the street from the '68 World's Fair. The company was a pioneer in designing and building midpriced hotels primarily for business travelers.

Today, La Quinta Corporation is a limited-service lodging company providing clean and comfortable rooms at affordable prices in convenient locations. We strive to design hotels that attract both business and leisure travelers seeking quality rooms that are generally comparable to those of mid-price, full service hotels, but at lower average room rates. We are one of the largest owner/operators of limited service hotels in the United States. We earn revenue primarily by owning and operating hotels and at September 30, 2004, we owned and operated more than 274 La Quinta branded hotels (36,000 rooms).

In September 2004, we purchased substantially all the assets of the limited service lodging division of The Marcus Corporation (the "acquisition"), for a total purchase price of approximately $419 million, including estimated transaction costs and net working capital adjustments. The acquisition included 90 Baymont Inns & Suites (including one management contract), seven Woodfield Suites and one Budgetel Inn, plus all of the trade rights associated with these brands. After the acquisition, we owned and operated a total of 371 company owned hotels (46,000 rooms). The acquisition of Baymont helped us gain exposure in the Midwestern region of the U.S.

In addition to owning and operating our hotel properties, we also earn revenue by licensing the use of our proprietary La Quinta and Baymont brand names in return for royalty and other fees through franchise agreements with franchisees. As part of the acquisition, we acquired the Baymont franchise system of 87 hotels. As of September 30, 2004, our franchisees operated 196 hotels representing over 17,100 rooms in 32 states under our brands, of which and franchised 109 were La Quinta branded hotels (9,700 rooms).

Why People Like to Work for Us

• Extensive training programs
• Growing company; opportunities for advancement
• Completed corporate turnaround in 2003
• Completed brand acquisition of Baymont Inn & Suites in 2004
• Implementing strategy to grow the La Quinta and Baymont brands

Company Statistics

Year founded

1968

Number of employees

7,000

Computer software

Proprietary PMS

Regional offices in

Accounting and central reservations in San Antonio, Texas. Corporate headquarters located in Dallas, Texas.

Property Portfolio

Types of properties we operate

Hotel

Types of locations include

Airports, Resorts, Major Cities, Small Cities, Suburban, Small Towns

Franchise affiliations

La Quinta Inns
La Quinta Inn & Suites
Baymont Inns & Suites
Woodfield Suites
Budgetel Inns

We have properties located in

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming

Portfolio summary

• We are owners and operators with equity in 274 properties.
• We operate a total of 274 properties.
• We franchise 109+ properties to other owners and operators.
• We are a REIT with 371+ hospitality properties in our portfolio.

About Our Company

Capital Allocation

The company annually allocates capital dollars to all properties.

Accounting

Centralized.

Reporting Requirements

We provide properties a reasonable degree of autonomy while providing overall leadership and direction. (Less than 10 hours of reporting requirements per month.)

Company characteristics

• The company is very sound financially.
• We are adding additional properties to the portfolio every year.
• We have a strong track record of promoting people based on performance, results, and willingness to relocate.

Internet Links

• La Quinta Inns, Inc.
• Baymont Inn & Suites
• Woodfield Suites