The Rosemont property (5500 N. River Rd., Chicago) was added toDow's portfolio "because of its great location and that fact that,hands down, it is the nicest in the area." It is the only all-suiteluxury hotel in such close proximity to the O'Hare InternationalAirport. Dow believes it will be able to "do more with the hotelthat the previous owner and management." Murray Dow II, presidentof the Dow, says, "...our proprietary management and marketingprograms will give the hotel a strong competitive advantage in amarket that has high barriers to new competition."

Those barriers were mentioned in Prudential Real EstateInvestors' Real Estate Outlook published at the end of the thirdquarter this year, in which it stated, "The good news... has beenthe sustained health of the US economy and the significanttightening of credit for new hotel construction." Prudentialappears guardedly optimistic about the hotel sector, which it sayshas "improved since the last quarter, thought it remains one of theproperty types most at risk at this point in the cycle. Occupancyrates and revenues per available room have increased in all marketsegments and supply is beginning to slow, all of which isencouraging. The close relationship between the hotel industry andthe economy poses obvious risks if the economy should slow." PREI,based in Newark NJ, is a subsidiary the Prudential InsuranceCompany of America. According to figures from June 30th, the REITmanages over $13.8B in assets on behalf of more than 325institutional clients in the US, Europe, Asia and LatinAmerica.

Seattle-based Dow says it is aggressively "seeking to acquireand manage other mid- to large-size, full-service hotels,especially those that have extensive food and beveragecapabilities." The company also manages and has ownership positionsin the 308-room Sacramento Radisson and the Clarion Hotel JamesMadison, a 127-room boutique property in Norfolk VA.