About three hotels, with an average of 250 rooms each, are beingbought each week, James Chatham, Ameri-First vice president, toldGlobeSt.com. The aggressive acquisition strategy got under way inMarch, with Homegate securing a five-year renewable managementcontract for the properties.

In concert with the acquisitions, both companies are beefing upinternally to keep pace with the development program, which willput at least 15,000 rooms at a purchase cost of $35,000 to $45,000per room into the portfolio, says Charles Wilkerson, vice presidentof acquisitions for Homegate, which is operated by his sons andson-in-law. In three weeks, the privately held Homegate will assumecorporation status and be publicly traded while Ameri-First hassealed a letter of intent with Hampton Securities to open brokerageoffices in Los Angeles, West Palm Beach and New York City,according to the executives. Ameri-First also is buying GapInsurance Co., a vehicle leasing business, Chatham says, predictingthe business strategies now in play will double per share value forAmeri-First stock within 30 days. It presently is trading at $1.50per share, down from its $2.57 per share book value due to lastFebruary's merger with Tahoe Pacific. Ameri-First expects torealize $120 million to $150 million in equity and a net operatingcash flow of $28 million to $30 million by the Homegate teaming,which adds a real estate subsidiary and hard assets toAmeri-First's bread and butter of cash-flow financing, emphasizesChatham.

It's the hotel development that is keeping the executivesscurrying to keep pace with closings and renovations that areplanned or under way for every acquired property. Wilkerson toldGlobeSt.com that $200,000 to $2 million each is being pumped intothe five-to-10-year-old properties being acquired from competitorssuch as Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn, Days Inn and Sheraton. The mostrecent purchase is the newly renovated Comfort Inn in Garland, TX."We don't really care what the franchisee is at this time becausethe franchise is going to go away and they'll all be Homegates,"says Wilkerson.