Based on financial information and trends through the quarter, the locally-based company now expects third quarter earnings per share to be in the range of $0.25 to $0.33, compared to $0.23 in the third quarter of last year. The company will update guidance for the remainder of the year in its quarterly earnings, scheduled for release in the last week of October.

Revenue is expected to range from $54.5 million to $56 million for the third quarter of 2002, compared to $33.8 million in the prior year period. EBITDA is expected to range from $11.8 million to $12.5 million, compared to $10.1 million in the third quarter of 2001, and cash flow is expected to range from $6.8 million to $7.5 million, compared to $5.8 million.

While current data suggests improving trends, including a RevPAR gain of more than 3% at all company-owned hotels for the first 23 days of September, the company remains cautious as the country faces a soft economy, potential conflict in Iraq and continued security alerts issued by the government. Despite the near term economic uncertainty, the company is encouraged by the recent RevPAR performance and overall strong performance over prior year. Specifically, theCompany is encouraged by its continued strong cash flow, which is expected to increase 15.7% to 28.6% during the third quarter.