CONSUMERS SPEAK LOUD & CLEAR AS WINGATE INN^® HOTELS ONCE AGAIN OUTPERFORM MID-MARKET COMPETITIVE SET (8/01)

It's one thing to tout a service or product yourself, but the message is much stronger when a third party does the touting. That's the case with Wingate Inn hotels as excellent consumer feedback helped the brand outperform its mid-market competitive set in satisfaction, service and value ratings for full year 2000, according to a recent report by D.K. Shifflet & Associates, a leading travel and tourism research and consulting firm.

According to the report, 77 percent of all guests rated their satisfaction with the all-new construction brand as good or excellent as compared with 61 percent for the overall mid-market segment. The value rating of Wingate Inn hotels was 72 percent compared with the segment rating of 56 percent, while the brand's service rating was 66 percent versus 57 percent for the segment.

"This is the third straight D.K. Shifflet report to show Wingate Inns rated well above the mid-market segment and several high-profile competitors in several categories," explains Keith Pierce, president & CEO of Wingate Inns International, Inc. "Since the brand's launch in 1995, we've been committed to satisfying customers with excellent service and great value. This full year D.K. Shifflet report shows that we're meeting our goals while continually keeping consumers extremely satisfied."

Wingate Inns International is an all-new construction hotel chain that opened its first franchised hotel in July 1996. Its focused service, upper mid-market franchised hotels feature sophisticated, consumer-based enabling technology and comfortable, oversized rooms that were created in response to business travelers' needs. All Wingate Inn hotels are independently owned and operated under Franchise agreements.