HOLLYWOOD, CA— Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Chairman/CEO Tom LaTour put out a clear message to hotel owners while he was speaking on an ALIS panel addressing the current climate for independent hotels. “We want a Kimpton hotel in every major city in the United States. If there is a broker out there, or if you have a hotel out there, we would love to talk to you,” said LaTour, who has stated openly that he has been to New York to seek out deals there. LaTour has also said in the past that he feels the current economic climate could provide some opportunities to those such as Kimpton, which is seeking to grow its portfolio. Boutique operator/owner Kimpton currently has 34 hotels open, with a large concentration of those being in San Francisco, where the company is based. Over the past few years, however, it has expanded eastward, recently opening hotels in New Orleans and Washington, DC, among other cities. The company, meanwhile, already has a number of properties in the works. Currently under construction is the 184-room Hotel Monaco in Washington, which is set to open in May; the 224-room Cypress Hotel in Cupertino, CA, slated with a July opening; the 252-room Argonaut Hotel in San Francisco, to open in December; and the 226-room Cambridgeside Hotel, set to open in March, 2003, in Cambridge, MA. Two hotel projects, meanwhile, are pending, one in Miami Beach, the other in San Diego. LaTour said that Kimpton is also presently building a property in Aspen, CO. To create a sense of place and to set a “story” for the hotel, Kimpton has hired a Hollywood set designer to design the property. The move is indicative of Kimpton’s overall hotel development strategy, which includes “finding the hole, selecting a designer, creating the ‘story,’ developing a marketing plan, and implementing and executing the ‘tailored brand’ concept,” said LaTour.