Hospitality Veteran William Blackham Joins Supertel Hospitality as CEO

NORFOLK, NE--(Marketwired - March 03, 2015) - Supertel Hospitality, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPPR), a real estate investment trust (REIT), today announced that hospitality and finance veteran William Blackham has joined the company as chief executive officer. Previously, Mr. Blackham was president and CEO of Eagle Hospitality, a hotel REIT which traded on the NYSE and has been active for several decades in entities actively involved in real estate and hospitality development, acquisition and advisory services. He replaces Kelly Walters, who will remain on Supertel's board of directors. Mr. Blackham also was appointed to the Supertel board of directors.

"Bill Blackham brings more than 30 years of deep and broad hospitality and investment experience to Supertel," said Jim Friend, Supertel's chairman of the board. "Bill has a long and accomplished track record creating and growing public and private companies, raising capital and building strong management teams. He understands our industry and shares our vision for growing the company. I and our board look forward to working closely with Bill to take Supertel to the next phase of growth."

"The hotel industry is enjoying continued positive growth in both demand and pricing power, which creates a variety of growth opportunities for the company," said Blackham. "I look forward to working with the board and management team to implement a strategy that creates significant shareholder value."

Blackham's hospitality expertise includes a key leadership role in the formation of Eagle Hospitality Properties Trust, Inc., a hotel REIT. As president and chief executive officer, he authored and implemented the company's business plan and led the company's growth from the IPO through the sale of the company. During his tenure, the company acquired more than $225 million of hotel assets, growing to an enterprise value of nearly $700 million. As CEO, the company generated a compounded annual return approaching 20 percent, creating more than $100 million in shareholder value.