While real estate and hotel development can be taught, true innovation in these disciplines requires an authentic sense of place and a tradition of excellence. In 1976, Conrad Cafritz, with his innovative vision, purchased One Washington Circle, a freestanding apartment building in the prestigious West End neighborhood, and converted it to an all-suite, full service hotel - one of the first of its kind in Washington, DC. Recognizing the opportunity in this type of conversion, Mr. Cafritz formed the Potomac Hotel Group to manage a rapidly growing portfolio of all-suite hotels.

During the late seventies and through the eighties, Potomac Hotel Group expanded in the Mid-Atlantic region, operating full-service and converted hotels from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, while at the same time maintaining a major presence in the Washington, DC market. In the early nineties, with the long term