LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Laurus Corporation is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed the acquisition of the Ramada Suites Hotel at the New Orleans Airport.

The Ramada Suites, a 130-room select service lodging establishment, is situated at the entrance of James Business Park (an upscale, 200-acre business park offering over two million square feet of commercial space) and immediately adjacent to the New Orleans International Airport.

The hotel, built in 2003, sits on a 3.4 acre highly visible site, features over 3,000 square feet of meeting space, two on-site restaurants, a 189-car parking lot, interior corridors, inviting pool and courtyard facilities, and one of the best fitness and business centers within its competitive set.

New Orleans (and the region’s hospitality industry) has and continues to experience vigorous recovery. During 2010, the New Orleans hospitality market ranked first in Smith Travel’s Top 25 Markets when evaluating RevPar advances between 2009 and 2010. The market’s 2010 RevPar advances of roughly 15% was approximately two percentage points higher than its next two closet competitors, New York and Boston. The number of visitors statewide is now expected to recover to 2004 levels by 2012 with 24.8 million people expected to visit to the state this year. Total visitor spending is expected to reach $9.1 billion in 2012. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport serves approximately 9.7 million passengers per year, nearly all of them non-connecting.

New Orleans Hotel Partners, LLC was formed as an investment vehicle to acquire the property. The new owners plan to implement a renovation program to upgrade the facility and rebrand the asset under a Holiday-Inn Express franchise affiliation. In addition, a new management agreement was executed with an experienced, first-tier local management company to significantly improve overall guest satisfaction and performance.

Laurus Corporation is a boutique style domestic and international real estate investment and development company, that specializes in hotel & resorts, office buildings and mixed-use properties. Laurus’ entrepreneurial business model and strong leadership, provides clear vision for each opportunity, combined with insight and foresight to identify true potential, while achieving exceptional returns for its investors.

SOURCE Laurus Corporation