LOUISVILLE, KY— Innkeepers USA Trust has completed the acquisition of the 182-room Clarion Hotel here for $6.4 million, in the process naming Innkeepers Hospitality Management to ultimately run the property. The hotel, which was reportedly in foreclosure, is to be repositioned and converted to a Hampton Inn following a $4.5-million renovation program launched by the Palm Beach, FL-based REIT. The acquisition and renovation costs are to be funded by borrowing on the company’s unsecured line of credit and with available cash. The hotel— located at 101 East Jefferson St. in downtown Louisville near Interstates 64, 65 and 71, two blocks from the Kentucky International Convention Center— is slated to operate as a Clarion and be managed by a third party until the fourth quarter 2004, when it is to be closed for renovations. The property would re-open in the second quarter of 2005 as a Hampton Inn, managed by Innkeepers Hospitality Management. “This is an example of an opportunistic acquisition of an asset with turnaround potential and how we add value through a substantial repositioning and rebranding,” said Innkeepers CEO/President Jeffrey Fisher. “In addition, downtown Louisville has a diversified demand mix, including a blend of leisure, convention and business travel,” he noted.