We began with the development, construction, and start-up of a Fairfield Inn by Marriott in 1994. Currently Western States Lodging & Management represents three international brands: Marriott Brands (Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn), Hilton (Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn and Suites, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton), and Choice. In 2000, we were selected from among 38 franchises across the United States to receive the TownPlace Suites Hotel of the Year from Marriott-for maintaining high occupancy, customer satisfaction and profitability. We have additionally been recognized with a Gold Key Award from Ramada, Property of the Year from Hampton, and Manager of the Year all while we continue to earn recognition for customer satisfaction and brand compliance. We have proven our management practices by profitable operations during boom-times (when market occupancy exceeded 85 percent) and in market downturns (when market occupancy dropped to less than 65 percent). We focus on maximizing profits and returns to our investors. We also aggressively manage costs while maintaining quality and customer satisfaction. We have successfully managed challenging world events—such as the 2002 Winter Olympics. Western States Lodging & Management has solid experience in hotel site development and management. Since 1995, we have successfully built, opened, and continue to manage hotels in the Mountain West area. Our 35 years of combined experience in the hotel industry include everything from upscale hotel management to the opening and managing of the first franchise for Marriott in Poland.