The DC acquisition is expected to close this month and the others in first-quarter 2005. All are nationally branded assets, according to a statement by locally based Innkeepers, which specializes in upscale, extended-stay properties and owns 68 of them aggregating 8,579 rooms in 21 states. Typically, Innkeepers rebrands and repositions acquisitions.

The price for these acquisitions includes estimated closing and repositioning costs and each purchase is subject to due diligence. Jeffrey H. Fisher, Innkeepers' president and CEO, says more details will be announced as each transaction is completed. Innkeepers is evaluating various financing alternatives to fund the acquisitions, he says, and Innkeepers Hospitality Management Inc., which is owned by the company's chairman and CEO, will manage the properties.

"We've been targeting the Baltimore/Washington corridor and Northern New Jersey, both of which have a large number of diverse demand generators and high barriers to competition," Fisher says. "We were able to acquire these three hotels at very attractive yields. Since May of this year, we have announced seven acquisitions for a total acquisition and repositioning cost of approximately $125 million," he reports.