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LOWE HOSPITALITY GROUP TAPS TOM LUERSEN

LOWE HOSPITALITY GROUP TAPS TOM LUERSEN
AS NEW REGIONAL MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR PACIFIC N.W.
New role to focus on development, hospitality growth opportunities

SUNRIVER, Ore., Dec. 4, 2007 — Tom Luersen is the new regional managing director for the Pacific Northwest for Lowe Hospitality Group. Luersen previously oversaw all hospitality activities in the region at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore., Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Wash., and the new Suncadia Resort located in Roslyn, Wash.

In his new role, Luersen will search for the right expansion opportunities for the company as well as continue to oversee properties and projects in the area for Lowe Hospitality Group subsidiaries, Destination Hotels & Resorts (DH&R) and Lowe Destination Development.

By integrating an in-house hospitality management team into the development process, Lowe and DH&R seek to take projects from pre-development through opening in a successful, highly efficient process, keeping the best interests of owners, development partners and customers in mind.

Prior to taking on more regionally focused roles, Luersen joined Sunriver Resort as managing director and partner in 1998 where his responsibilities included all lodging, convention, food and beverage, golf and recreation aspects of the resort, The Sunriver Utilities Company, the Crosswater Club and Sunriver Realty operations. A main focus of Luersen’s over the last 10 years has been creating a long-term vision for the resort community, which included the recent development of the adjacent 400-acre Caldera Springs resort community.

Before coming to Sunriver, Luersen was vice president, hospitality division, for The Woodlands Corp. in The Woodlands, Texas, where he was responsible for The Woodlands Executive Conference Center and Resort, The Woodlands Country Club, The Tournament Players Course and two other corporate conference centers on property.

Luersen, a resident of Bend, is active in many local, regional and national organizations.  He currently serves on the High Desert Museum Board of Trustees, the Wonderland Express Board of Directors, the JELD-WEN Tradition’s Business Advisory Committee and the Cascade Culinary Institute Steering Committee.

He also is an active member with the Resort Committee of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, International Association of Conference Centers, Urban Land Institute, Oregon Lodging Association, Central Oregon Visitors Association and the Central Oregon Air Service Task Force. In July 2007, Luersen was re-appointed to an additional four-year term on the Oregon Tourism Commission by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

A native of Louisville, Ky., Luersen graduated with a degree in hospitality management from Florida International University in Miami.  He went on to serve as convention services manager at Opryland USA in Nashville, Tenn., and then resident manager at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va., before joining The Woodlands Corp.

DH&R and Lowe are subsidiaries of Lowe Hospitality Group, which is owned by Lowe Enterprises, Inc., a privately held national real estate investment, management and development firm headquartered in Los Angeles.  John B. Platt, chief executive office for Lowe Hospitality Group, made the Luersen announcement.

Lowe Destination Development’s completed hotel projects include The Lodge at Ocean Hammock in Florida, the Boardwalk Inn at Wild Dunes and Estancia La Jolla Resort & Spa in California. The firm is currently developing in excess of $2 billion of resort and resort community projects including the 6,030-acre Suncadia project, the 1,040-acre Grizzly Ranch in Portola, Calif., 700-acre Stone Eagle Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif., and the 582-room Terranea Resort located on 102 acres along the Pacific Ocean in Palos Verdes, Calif.

Destination Hotels & Resorts is a lodging management company headquartered in suburban Denver. With more than 30 independent, luxury and upscale hotels, resorts and golf clubs, Destination is the fifth largest independent hospitality management company in the country. The company’s portfolio features more than 7,000 guest rooms, 10 golf courses and 12 full-service spas. Destination Hotels & Resorts properties are located in key metropolitan and resort markets including Washington, D.C., Houston, Denver, Dallas, San Diego, Santa Fe, Aspen, Austin, Phoenix, Portland, Palm Springs, Maui and Lake Tahoe.

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A photograph of Luersen is available upon request. For high resolution, downloadable images of properties in the Destination Hotels & Resorts collection, please visit www.leonardo.com/destination.