CNGR NEWS....
( BW)(TX-CROWN-GROUP)(CNGR) Crown Group Announces Initial Opening of Homestay Lodges
Business Editors & Travel Writers
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 1999--Crown Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNGR) today announced that HomeStay Lodges I, Ltd., which is 80% owned by the Company, has opened its first two extended-stay lodging facilities.
The recently-opened HomeStay Lodges contain 120 units each and are strategically located near colleges, industrial parks, hospitals and U. S. Navy bases in the Pensacola, Fla., area. Each HomeStay Lodge studio/efficiency unit averages 288 square feet in size and provides appealing features for extended-stay guests, including fully-equipped kitchenettes, weekly housekeeping, color televisions with cable and/or satellite service, coin-operated laundromats, and telephone service with voice mail messaging.
"The facilities were designed for a target niche in the lodging industry which is not adequately served by other extended-stay chains," noted Edward R. McMurphy, President and Chairman of Crown Group, Inc. "They are designed to offer quality accommodations for guests at substantially lower rates than are charged by most other extended-stay lodging providers. Weekly lodging rates will average less than $150 for single occupancy and less than $185 for double occupancy."
"We expect HomeStay Lodge guests primarily to include business travelers, blue-collar workers on temporary assignments, people between domestic situations, and persons relocating or purchasing a home," continued McMurphy. "The lodges will be located near areas where the employment base consists largely of service, retail, blue-collar, military, support, construction, entry-level or seasonal jobs, or where large numbers of pensioners reside. This target market should view the low rates and guest services offered at a HomeStay Lodge as an attractive housing alternative to apartment rentals. Additional demand should come from corporate and personnel relocation, corporate training programs, students and government lodging requirements."
The HomeStay Lodges are being managed by The Windham Company of Pensacola, Fla., Windham has managed, developed, renovated and constructed lodging facilities throughout the Southeast during the past 25 years. The company has operated both independent and franchised properties in all segments of the lodging industry. Windham has been involved with more than 80 lodging properties and entered the budget segment of the lodging industry in 1980.
"The HomeStay Lodges in Pensacola are located near the various U.S. Navy facilities in the area, the main campus of the University of West Florida, the Ellyson Industrial Complex and a planned Baptist Hospital Center", noted Robert T. Windham, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Windham Company. "The extended-stay segment of the lodging industry is growing very rapidly, and HomeStay Lodges have been designed to compete at the 'budget' level within this segment, where competition is limited."
"We have identified a number of locations for future extended-stay facilities, primarily in the Southeastern U. S., where demographic and market analyses support the economics of the HomeStay lodging concept," stated Edward McMurphy. "How rapidly we expand the chain will depend upon the success of the initial two lodges, and we have not acquired any property for additional facilities at this time."
Crown Group, Inc. is a publicly traded buy-out firm which seeks to enhance shareholder value through the acquisition, development and operation of small-cap companies with significant growth potential. Crown Group currently owns (i) 100% of Car-Mart and 80% of PAACO Automotive Group, vertically integrated used car sales and finance companies; (ii) 100% of Precision IBC, a firm specializing in the sale and rental of intermediate bulk containers; (iii) 80% of Concorde Acceptance Corporation, a sub-prime mortgage lender; (iv) 49% of Casino Magic Neuquen, a casino operator in the Province of Neuquen, Argentina; (v) 50.1% of Crown El Salvador, a casino development company in El Salvador; and (vi) 80% of Home Stay Lodges, a partnership which is involved in the development and operation of extended-stay lodging facilities. |
