Aston, the third-largest operator of accommodations in Hawai'i, runs 33 hotels and condominium resorts in the state, with about 5,000 rooms and units in Waikiki, Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island.

Aston President Kelvin Bloom said there are no anticipated changes for the more than 1,500 employees in Hawai'i.

He said acquired properties here will benefit from "cross-selling opportunities" between Gaylord and ResortQuest. No substantial changes are expected in the short term, although "long term it's difficult to say," Bloom said.

Jim Olin, CEO of ResortQuest, said in a letter to employees that he expects "some attrition at the corporate level." He said benefits to current employees will "remain substantially the same."

To condominium owners at facilities managed by ResortQuest, Olin said, operations should continue without interruption.

Gaylord has agreed to pay 0.275 of a share for each ResortQuest share, valuing the ResortQuest stock at $5.53. That's an 8.4 percent premium over ResortQuest's closing price yesterday.

Gaylord said in a statement that it also plans to assume about $71 million in debt from ResortQuest, which holds $3 million in unrestricted cash. Subtracting the cash portion, the transaction has a total value of about $177 million.

The companies will seek approval from shareholders and regulators and expect the transaction to close early next year.

Acquiring ResortQuest allows Nashville-based Gaylord to add about 20,000 vacation rental properties to its chain of hotels, which focus on offering meeting places for business customers.

ResortQuest, based in Memphis, Tenn., has a 4 percent market share in the $10 billion vacation rental homes and condominiums business in the country, Gaylord Entertainment said.

"What we've been trying to do is to look at ways to accelerate growth in a noncapital intensive way for our business," Gaylord Chief Executive Officer Colin Reed said.

Andre Tatibouet, the former owner of Aston Hotels & Resorts, sold the group to ResortQuest in 1998 for about $30 million.

While ResortQuest specializes in managing vacation rental properties for private owners, the Aston Hotels & Resorts brand in Hawai'i also is known for its hotels, including the recently renovated Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel.

"Right now Aston has got very, very strong brand equity so we're not going to do anything to change that brand," Olin said. "Hopefully in the future we can get people to understand that Aston and ResortQuest are one."

Also yesterday, ResortQuest reported net income for the second quarter fell to $1.3 million, or 7 cents per share, compared with $2.2 million, or 12 cents, a year ago.