NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Interstate Hotels & Resorts Inc. said Wednesday it swung to a first-quarter loss as the year-ago benefited from a unit sale.

The hotel management company reported a loss for the period ended March 31 of $286,000, or a penny per share, compared with a profit of $15.9 million, or 50 cents per share, in the prior year.

Excluding write-offs and other items, Interstate reported a loss of $1.1 million, or 3 cents per share, compared with a profit of $775,000, or 2 cents per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of a penny per share. Estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Year-ago results included a $17 million gain from the January 2007 sale of its BridgeStreet Corporate Housing subsidiary.

Quarterly revenue declined 7 percent to $190 million from $204.8 million on a drop in management fee revenue and other revenue from managed properties.