Apple REIT chairman and publisher of Forbes named keynote speakers of 2009 Hunter Hotel Investment Conference

ATLANTA, GA – Officials today announced that Glade Knight, chairman & CEO, Apple REIT Companies, and Rich Karlgaard, publisher and columnist, Forbes Magazine, will be the keynote speakers at the 2009 Hunter Hotel Investment Conference to be held March 15-17, 2009. In addition, officials said that the conference has been relocated to the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, Georgia from the Hilton Atlanta Downtown.

“Due to the turbulent economic conditions and the sobering forecasts for 2009, hoteliers are more anxious than ever to get input about the direction of the economy and the hotel industry,” said Bob Hunter, CEO of Hunter Realty Associates, Inc. and conference chair. “Glade Knight oversees one of the nation’s largest hotel portfolios and remains an active acquirer. He brings insights into both the current hotel real estate market and a historic perspective. Rich Karlgaard is both publisher and a columnist for Forbes and will bring it all together for us and offer a unique ‘30,000-foot’ outlook for the economy, the success of the government’s efforts to get the economy back on track, and how business leaders are responding. Their ability to speak directly and candidly about issues that concern hoteliers make them ideal keynote speakers and will ensure that attendees at the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference receive not only the information they want to hear, but the information they need to hear.”

Glade Knight founded and oversees Apple REIT Companies, a group of hotel REITs that have owned a total of 285 hotels and currently own 191 hotels in a range of market segments nationwide. He is known for having consistently provided the highest possible shareholder returns, protecting shareholder principal, and growing earnings through multiple economic cycles.

Rich Karlgaard writes a biweekly column on current business issues for Forbes Magazine, of which he is the publisher, and is a regular panelist on Forbes on Fox and a frequent guest analyst on CNBC’s Kudlow & Co.

“Our original conference site is undergoing a US$45 million renovation that, unfortunately, will not be completed as planned prior to the conference,” Hunter noted. “Upon recognizing the delay, meeting planners at the Hilton Atlanta Downtown worked very well with us in our relocation to the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. We are appreciative of the hospitable attitude both these hotels have shown, by going out of their way to accommodate us.”

Celebrating 21 years in 2009, the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference is one of four annual events nationwide that attracts the hotel industry’s top leaders. It will feature a program of more than 100 speakers, 15 roundtables, 16 breakout sessions, seven “main” tent sessions, and two keynote speakers. Proceeds from the conference benefit the scholarship fund at Georgia State University’s Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality.

Details of the program are available at www.hunterconference.com .