05-07-07 Silver Companies' Latest Hotel is a Next-Generation Brand Combining the Hyatt Touch®  with Revolutionary Design

JACKSONVILLE, FL– May 7, 2007 – Hyatt Place™ today announced the groundbreaking of Hyatt Place™ Jacksonville Airport.  Hyatt Place™, a new kind of hotel that complements Hyatt’s full service brands, combines contemporary design with innovative services and amenities to create an atmosphere of casual hospitality. 
 “We did extensive research before beginning development on Hyatt Place™ and what stood out most to us was the fact that people no longer separate their lives into business and leisure – instead they are living a 24/7 lifestyle.  But even though lifestyles have changed, hotel experiences have remained stagnant,” said Jim Abrahamson, senior vice president for Hyatt Corporation.  “Hyatt Place™ is specifically designed around this new breed of travelers, offering guests a mix of comfortable and functional amenities in an environment designed to help them stay relaxed, fulfilled and productive while traveling.”
The 127-room hotel, expected to open Spring 2008, is owned by Silver Company and will be managed by MMI Hotel Group.  Located at the corner of Ranch Rd. and Duvall Rd., Hyatt Place™Jacksonville Airport is expected to create 40 new jobs.  Boston-based design firm, Cubellis, designed Hyatt Place™ Jacksonville Airport.
“Everything about Hyatt Place™ is revolutionary, both for the guest and the hotel industry, from its design to the service to the food,” said Marvin Bolinger, chief operating officer, Silver Companies.  “We’re excited to bring that kind of exciting, new experience to North Jacksonville.”
Hyatt Place™ was inspired by the changing landscape of contemporary, multi-tasking business travelers, who have successfully adapted to today’s “24/7 lifestyle,” seamlessly merging personal and professional activities.  To help guests achieve this, Hyatt Place™ offers a balanced mix of comfortable and functional amenities. 
 Similar to what travelers might experience at home, guests can take advantage of free Wi-Fi access, stretch out on the eight-foot Cozy Corner sofa-sleeper or work at an oversized desk in an ergonomic chair.  They can also catch the evening news, the big game or the latest feature movies on the 42-inch flat panel, high-definition television offering 11 channels of high-definition programming in addition to an already impressive channel selection.  Hyatt Place™ guests will also have access to Hotel SportsNetSM service, which includes NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ and NBA LEAGUE PASSSM as well as other professional and college sports programming.  Hyatt Place™ guests can stay connected through the innovative Hyatt Plug Panel™, which allows guests to connect their own entertainment media to the high-definition TV, including laptops, MP3 players, DVD players or any other portable device.  The signature Hyatt Grand Bed™ ensures guests can enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep in the bedroom area.
Hyatt PlaceTM hotels also feature the Gallery, an innovative welcoming arrival area where guests are personally greeted by the Gallery Host who assists guests with everything from check-in to providing personal tours of the hotel. 
In the Gallery, guests will also find a self-registration kiosk, an intimate coffee and wine café and bakery, free Wi-Fi, a TV den and an e-room with free access to a public computer and printer.  Guests at Hyatt Place™ may purchase signature hot breakfast entrées along with Starbucks® specialty coffees or enjoy a free continental breakfast.  Hyatt Place also offers a variety of freshly prepared, café quality items, including made-to-order entrées, sandwiches, soups, salads and pizza which guests can order 24 hours a day, seven days a week via a touch screen menu in the Guest Kitchen or from the Gallery Host.
To help guests stay physically and mentally productive, they can also utilize the hotel’s swimming pool or StayFit@Hyatt gym featuring state-of-the-art Life Fitness® equipment.
Travelers are raving about Hyatt Place™ hotels already open in and around Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, Cincinnati, San Antonio, Nashville, Washington, DC and Louisville.  There will be 120 Hyatt Place™ hotels open by December 2007, including locations in Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, Orlando and Detroit, in addition to other key business and leisure markets throughout the country. 

About Silver Companies
Silver Companies is a Boca Raton, Fla. and Metro Washington, D.C.–based master developer of large commercial and residential land tracts and a diversified real estate investment firm. Since 1941, Silver Companies has built an impressive private enterprise with commercial development approaching 11 million sq. ft. and residential site development totaling more than 50,000 units. In addition, the company’s private equity division has provided more than $1 billion in capital to builders and developers during the last six years. Silver Companies is led by CEO Larry D. Silver and is backed by teams of division presidents, engineers, contractors, project managers, lending, leasing and acquisitions professionals and nationally recognized strategic partners. For more information, visit www.silvercompanies.com.
 
About MMI Hotel Group
MMI Hotel Group is a 50-year old company recognized by its peers as a leader and innovator in the hospitality industry.  MMI was founded in 1956 with the operation of its first property -- a Holiday Inn in Meridian, Mississippi (among this national chain's first Inns). Much has changed at MMI and in the industry since. Yet MMI's founding principal of excellence in every facet of operations and its firm belief that "the guest is our true boss," will never change. MMI is comprised of two distinct, yet fully interdependent and complementing divisions: MMI Hotel Group and MMI Dining Systems. Together, the two divisions own, manage or serve over 100 locations in the southeast U.S., bringing the MMI commitment to excellence to tens of thousands of guests each day.

About Hyatt Place 
Hyatt Place™, a new kind of Hyatt for today’s relaxed lifestyle, combines The Hyatt Touch® with stylish design, purposeful amenities and forward-thinking technology.  Catering to today’s discerning travelers, 120 Hyatt Place™ hotels are to open across the U.S. by the end of 2007.  Hyatt Place™ is a newly developed brand of Global Hyatt Corporation.  For Hyatt Place™ information or to make a reservation, call 1-888-HYATT-HP (888-492-8847) or visit www.hyattplace.com.  From the U.S. and Canada, reservations for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts worldwide may be obtained by calling 1-800-233-1234 or logging onto www.hyatt.com

Global Hyatt Corporation
Global Hyatt Corporation, one of the world’s premier hotel companies, offers today’s travelers over 735 hotels and resorts (over 136,000 rooms) in more than 44 countries. The company’s affiliates own, operate, manage and franchise Hyatt branded hotels and resorts under the Park Hyatt™, Grand Hyatt™, Hyatt Regency™, Hyatt Resorts™, Hyatt™, Hyatt Place™ and Hyatt Summerfield Suites™ brands. In April 2007, Hyatt launched its newest global brand, Andaz™.  Global Hyatt Corporation is also the owner of Hyatt Vacation Ownership, Inc. operator of the Hyatt Vacation Club and fractional residential properties and U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc, which franchises Hawthorn Suites and Microtel Inns and Suites.  From the U.S. and Canada, reservations for any Hyatt hotel worldwide may be obtained by calling 1-800-233-1234 or logging onto www.hyatt.com. 

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