In Town Hotels, Marriott Agree to End Litigation, Extend Management Agreement, Work Together on New Hotel Opportunities

In Town Hotels, Marriott Agree to End Litigation, Extend Management Agreement, Work Together on New Hotel OpportunitiesCHARLESTON, W.V. and WASHINGTON, Jul 28, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- In Town Hotels, Inc. of Charleston, West Virginia, and Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) today announced that they have agreed to dismiss the litigation between them regarding the operation of the Charleston (West Virginia) Marriott, have extended Marriott's management agreement for the hotel by ten years through 2017, and are working cooperatively on new hotel opportunities.

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As part of the agreement, in addition to extending the term, Marriott and In Town made minor modifications to the management agreement for the Charleston Marriott, and reaffirmed Marriott's management practices for the hotel.

Albert Ratner, Co-Chairman of Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland, In Town's parent company, said, "After our review, we are totally satisfied with Marriott's management practices at our hotel and look forward working with them in Charleston for many years to come."

The agreement provides that the hotel will be renovated with Marriott Hotels & Resorts latest guestroom design package. Marriott agreed to provide a $1 million loan to the hotel to assist in the renovation, to be repaid with interest over five years, and In Town agreed to provide additional capital to complete the renovations. The resolution of the dispute involves no other payment, now or in the future, by either party, in connection with the Charleston hotel.

The parties also announced that they intend to pursue development of a new hotel on an undisclosed project being developed by Forest City, and Marriott has agreed to a $2 million investment in the project. Marriott expects to obtain a long-term management or franchise agreement as part of the new project, which it anticipates to have a value in excess of the amount invested.

Added Mr. Ratner, "We're pleased that we've resolved our relationship issues with Marriott, and look forward to more successful projects with them in the future. Getting Marriott involved in a new hotel project with us expresses our confidence in them as a hotel manager and is a win-win situation for both companies."

James M. Sullivan, Marriott's Executive Vice President for development, said, "We are particularly pleased that our relationship with In Town has been revitalized, and we are working together cooperatively in Charleston and on several potential projects with Forest City. We value Forest City's expertise as an owner and development partner."

The 352-room Charleston Marriott Town Center is the leading hotel in the Charleston, West Virginia market, in the heart of downtown across from the Charleston Town Center and Civic Center. The hotel has two restaurants, and extensive fitness facilities are available on-site and nearby.

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE: MAR) is a leading worldwide hospitality company with over 2,600 lodging properties in the United States and 68 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Ramada International brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club International, Horizons, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Marriott Grand Residence Club brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers. The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C., has approximately 128,000 employees, and was ranked as the lodging industry's most admired company and one of the best places to work for by FORTUNE^®. For more information or reservations, please visit the web site at www.marriott.com.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws, including statements concerning future joint development of lodging properties by the parties and similar statements concerning anticipated future events and expectations that are not historical facts. We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including supply and demand changes for hotel rooms; competitive conditions in the lodging industry; and the ability of the parties to reach mutual agreement on definitive contract terms for future hotel developments; any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the statements herein. These statements are made as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

IRPR#1

SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.

Tom Marder of Marriott International, Inc., +1-301-380-2553, or thomas.marder@marriott.com /Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/532963.html /Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030605/MARRIOTTLOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk, +1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840

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