Info

Today, RLJ is proud to be one of the fastest growing hotel investment companies in the United States. While rapidly growing the portfolio of assets, the company has also strengthened its management team by attracting seasoned executives from throughout the industry. Expertise in feasibility, development, and finance is complemented by depth in the areas of asset and project management, allowing RLJ to first source and structure attractive opportunities, and then expertly oversee them. RLJ enjoys strong relationships with leading brands such as Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt among others, and hires the nation's finest hotel management firms to operate the hotels. The core strategy has been to focus on upscale, limited-service hotels (often referred to as "focused-service" or "select-service" hotels) and compact full-service hotels in dense urban settings, or other markets with exceptional barriers to entry. At the same time, RLJ has been entrepreneurial, seizing opportunities slightly outside of the core strategy. Examples include the development projects in the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore, described above, and the acquisition of the distressed Hilton Cancun Beach and Golf Resort, in May of 2003. RLJ self-financed that particular all-cash transaction, defined the scope of the necessary renovation, and then re-capitalized the project in partnership with Merrill Lynch Global Principal Investments. Despite launching and ramping up during and the industry's unprecedented three consecutive years of declining performance (2001-2003), RLJ has established an enviable track record. By any benchmark, the portfolio has outperformed its peers, generating gross internal rate of return (IRR) in excess of 20%. RLJ remains actively engaged in the acquisition, repositioning, renovation, and re-branding of institutional-quality hotel properties throughout North America and the Caribbean. The company is exceedingly well-capitalized, and is building a portfolio of first-class hotels in strong, diverse markets. RLJ welcomes inquiries from hotel owners and operators seeking to restructure their portfolios or liquidate their hospitality holdings altogether. Late in 2004 RLJ entered another chapter in its growth story with the initial closing of the RLJ Urban Lodging Fund ("RLJ Fund I")* with $315 million in equity commitments. Institutional investors were provided the opportunity to invest alongside Mr. Johnson and his team, with a focus on the core strategies that have been so successful for RLJ. RLJ Fund I allows RLJ to capitalize on its proven ability to find off-market acquisition opportunities, financially structure them appropriately, associate them with the strongest brands and operators, and then carefully asset manage them through their investment life-cycles. RLJ Fund I offering was extremely well received, and upon achieving certain acquisition fulfillment horizons, RLJ launched the RLJ Lodging Fund II (RLJ Fund II) with $743 million in equity commitments in September 2006. The RLJ Fund's management is actively fulfilling the ventures' objectives by carefully analyzing an extensive pipeline of hotel investment opportunities.