Fink, who has worked in the industry for over ten years, will lead a new division for Northwest Suites that provides a variety of services including providing neighborhood tours, helping clients identify strengths and weaknesses of each in relationship to their work and family priorities, locating full time rental housing, renting or purchasing furniture, and providing international settling-in services.

Caple said, "This new combination of services is a great recruiting tool for our clients. Our staff will help relocating employees appreciate the benefits of living in the Puget Sound region and provide them with the help they need to secure full time housing faster."

Caple said that destination anxiety is the number one fear among relocating executives, and the full complement of services now available through Northwest Suites for short term or permanent housing makes it possible to calm that fear. One of the primary objectives of this new division is to help relocating executives find suitable permanent housing faster so they can settle more readily and be more productive at new jobs.

"The beauty of this move for Northwest Suites is that we are now able to accommodate every housing scenario with short or long term solutions," Caple said. The new housing services division, combined with the interim corporate housing services of Northwest Suites Inc., positions the company as a leader in the field. The company now offers a single point of contact for everything relocating executives need to get situated in a new home so they can be optimally productive at work.

Caple says that clients continue to seek new ways to lower the cost of relocating key talent, and Northwest Suites believes the addition of the housing services division will enable clients to achieve that goal while enjoying additional services that make the relocation process as seamless as possible for the client and the relocating staff members.

CRI has been in business for five years from offices on Mercer Island. With its merger with Northwest Suites, Caple said that Northwest Suites is preparing to extend its services beyond the Northwest. As a result, a name change is anticipated in the months to come.

Headquartered in Redmond, Washington and launched in 1988, Northwest Suites Inc. serves as a preferred corporate housing provider to Microsoft, Amazon, Washington Mutual, and others. High profile, seasonal clients such as the Seattle Mariners, the Seattle Storm, the Seattle Seahawks, and The Village Theatre also entrust their interim housing needs exclusively to Northwest Suites.

Northwest Suites provides "All the Comforts of Home™" in the Northwest and around the world by offering thousands of unique housing selections that blend the comforts of living at home with the amenities and services clients need to make their stays comfortable, productive, and rewarding, all at a price that makes good business sense. With the merger with CRI, Northwest Suites Inc. also provides full time rental assistance and international settling-in services.

Northwest Suites is among the fastest growing private companies in the Puget Sound region, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal's annual report for 2001. Visit www.northwestsuites.com to learn more.