Trends Build Momentum for Hunter Douglas Hospitality Collection (release)
23 August, 2004

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ, Aug. 23, 2004 - Within a year of its launch, Hunter Douglas Hospitality is helping change the look of windows in the hospitality sector, as hotels, resorts, and restaurants respond to the style-conscious requirements of upscale business and leisure travelers. This trend, well established in boutique properties and now being pursued by major hotel brands, has inspired leading hospitality designers to integrate new products that will inspire and intrigue patrons with more interesting and luxurious environments.

With a full ensemble of sophisticated window coverings designed specifically for hotels and resorts, the innovative style and features of products in the Hospitality Collection speak to the needs of designers looking for new and sophisticated ways to introduce design and color elements at the window and enhance light as it passes into a room. Products in the Hospitality Collection offer durable construction; superior light control; full privacy and excellent sound absorption; as well as FR characteristics to meet the rigorous specifications of hospitality applications.

"Our products offer both aesthetics and functionality, creating environments that are more stylish and comfortable than those seen at hotels and resorts in the past," said Mark Sonneborn, director of the Hunter Douglas Hospitality business unit. "We have worked on a number of exciting projects since the collection debuted last spring, and we expect this success to continue in light of a recent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers that projects $3 billion will be spent on hotel renovations this year alone."

Leading international designers are responding to this new offering by specifying Hunter Douglas in projects across the country and around the world. Recent notable installations include:

• Alexandra Champalimaud & Associates specifying Duette? FR honeycomb shades for the Hotel Nikko in Dusseldorf, Germany, and Silhouette? FR window shadings for the Algonquin Hotel in New York City;
  
• The Getty Group specifying Vignette? FR window shadings and Remembrance? roller shades for the Metropolitan Hotel in New York City;
  
• Kathleen Fraser specifying Country Woods? Collection? blinds for the Carnegie Abbey on Narragansett Bay in Portsmouth, R.I.;
  
• Vignette FR window shadings specified by the design team overseeing the renovation of the historic Wentworth by the Sea, a Marriott property in New Castle, N.H.;
  
• as well as installations at the Cottages at Boat Basin in Nantucket, MA; the Sanibel Harbour Resort in Fort Myers, Fla.; several exciting WorldMark resorts around the world; and many others.
  

Choice Selections
The Hospitality Collection features many of the most innovative and successful window-covering products from Hunter Douglas, such as

• exclusive Silhouette FR window shadings with soft fabric vanes suspended between sheer facing fabrics;
  
• exclusive Vignette FR window shadings with layers of softly contoured fabric folds and a sleek, fabric-covered headrail;
  
• highly durable and efficient Duette FR honeycomb shades with the first fire-retardant, blackout honeycomb shade;
  
• Remembrance? roller shades, Brilliance? pleated shades, Provenance? woven wood shades, Palm Beach? custom shutters, Country Woods Collection wood blinds, and more.

Complete product information is available on Hunter Douglas Hospitality's Web site, along with downloadable product swatches, photography for design storyboards, links for quotes, and online swatch requests.

With a 50-year heritage of innovation in window fashions, Hunter Douglas is the world market leader in window coverings and a major manufacturer of architectural products. Hunter Douglas North America is headquartered in Upper Saddle River, NJ. The website is located at www.hunterdouglashospitality.com.