Red Lion Hotels Corporation

Red Lion Hotels Corporation, doing business as RLH Corporation, is an American hospitality corporation that primarily engages in the franchising, management and ownership of upscale, mid-scale and economy hotels.

Red Lion Hotels Corporation

Formerly	Goodale & Barbieri Companies (1950s–1997) Cavanaughs Hospitality Corporation (1997–2000) WestCoast Hospitality Corporation (2000–2005)
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Hospitality
Founded	1937; 86 years ago (1937) (as a property management division of a bank, later becoming Goodale & Barbieri Companies) Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Headquarters	Denver, Colorado , U.S.
Area served	United States, Canada
Key people	John Russell (CEO)
Products	Hotels and resorts
Revenue	US$142.92 million (2015)
Operating income	US$13.88 million (2015)
Net income	US$2.7 million (2015)
Total assets	US$287.22 million (2015)
Total equity	US$167.60 million (2015)
Number of employees	1,783 (2015)
Parent	Sonesta International Hotels
Subsidiaries	Vantage Hospitality GuestHouse International Hotel RL Red Lion Hotels
Website	www.redlion.com

Red Lion, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, has 90,000 rooms across more than 1,400 properties (as of May 2018)^[1] in North America.

History

Goodale & Barbieri era

1930s–1970s: Origins as a local property management company

Red Lion Hotels Corporation's roots can be traced back to Spokane, Washington in 1937 when the property management division of Washington Trust Bank, then known as The Washington Trust Company, was established and led by a man named Frank M. Goodale. Goodale quickly hired Louis Barbieri, who was from nearby De Smet, Idaho and a recent business degree graduate from Gonzaga University, to work under him.^[2] Frank Goodale purchased the property management business from Washington Trust in 1944 and kept Barbieri on as an employee. By the mid-1950s, Barbieri was elevated to a partner in the business, and the company formally became known as Goodale & Barbieri Companies.^[3][2] Though Barbieri went on to buy out Goodale's share in the company in 1959, he maintained the company's name.^[2] The company focused primarily on commercial real estate and development, but expanded into housing in 1972.^[3]

1970s–1990s: Diversification into lodging and entertainment operations

In 1976, Goodale & Barbieri launched its hospitality division, constructing and opening its first hotel^[4] near present-day Riverfront Park. The hotel, originally called the TraveLodge River Inn (unrelated to Travelodge), was constructed in a limited liability partnership with the Burlington Northern Railroad on a four-acre plot of land, then-utilized as a coal storage yard, that the railroad owned but no longer needed, in part because of the urban transformation and redevelopment of Spokane's riverfront for Expo '74.^[5]

Goodale & Barbieri eventually created a brand name for the company's hotel operations, launching the Cavanaughs brand in 1980.

By 1987, the company established a computerized event ticketing company, G&B Select A Seat, which is now known as TicketsWest.

In 1991, the company briefly ventured into food production, purchasing a local Spokane dairy, Broadview Dairy, out of bankruptcy and operating it until its closure in 1997.^[6]

Going public

1990s–2000s: IPO, mergers, and corporate rebrandings

 

Red Lion Hotels Corporation's Spokane regional office, formerly its corporate headquarters

Rebranding as Cavanaughs Hospitality Corporation

Preparing for an initial public offering, Goodale & Barbieri Companies adopted its hotel brand into its corporate identity in 1997, changing its name to Cavanaughs Hospitality Corporation. The IPO was completed in April 1998, and Cavanaughs began trading under the ticker CVH.^[7]

Merger and rebranding to WestCoast Hospitality Corporation

By the end of 1999,^[8] Cavanaughs announced it would acquire its regional rival, Seattle-based WestCoast Hotels, Inc. with transaction closing on January 7, 2000.^[9] On March 1, 2000, the combined company began trading under the new ticker, WEH.^[10] Recognizing the broader geographic reach of the WestCoast name, Cavanaughs also changed its name to WestCoast Hospitality Corporation with the launch of its new stock ticker and announced plans to rebrand its hotels into the WestCoast name.^[11]

In addition to the expanded hotel portfolio following the acquisition of WestCoast, the company also announced plans to franchise properties under its brand.^[12]

Red Lion Hotels acquisition

By 2001, the company grew again; this time by announcing it would acquire the Red Lion Hotels brand and properties (along with several other DoubleTree properties) from Hilton Hotels.^[13] The $51 million acquisition expanded the company's footprint to every Western state, except New Mexico, and grew its portfolio to nearly 90 hotels and 15,000 rooms.^[14] Capitalizing on the Red Lion brand, a majority of the company's WestCoast Hotels properties were rebranded to the Red Lion name within the two years following the acquisition.^[15]

Red Lion Hotels Corporation era

2005–2016: Further rebranding, divestitures and acquisitions

In September 2005, further realizing the revitalization of the Red Lion name, WestCoast Hospitality Corporation assumed its present-day name, Red Lion Hotels Corporation and changed its stock ticker to RLH. It also announced its ambitions to double in size from 50 markets to 100 markets by 2010 through company-owned, joint venture, and franchised hotel openings.^[16]

In April 2006, RLHC divested its real estate management business, G&B Real Estate Services, spinning it off into a separate company.^[17] The spun-off company was reestablished as Goodale & Barbieri Company, a nod to its historical past, and as of 2020, remains based in Spokane and led by members of the Barbieri family.^[3]

Growth of its hotel operations continued into the 2010 decade. In October 2014, RLHC announced a new upscale conversion brand, Hotel RL. In April 2015, RLHC acquired GuestHouse International, LLC and its two brands, GuestHouse International and Settle Inn & Suites, from Boomerang Hotels in a deal with up to $10 million.^[18][19] The acquisition more than doubled Red Lion's size from 57 properties to 130^[20] properties and added 5,187 rooms to its portfolio.^[21]

2016–present: Vantage acquisition, headquarters relocation, and refocus as a national hotel company

In September 2016, RLHC acquired Vantage Hospitality Group and its brands Vantage Hotels, Americas Best Value Inn, Canadas Best Value Inn, Lexington by Vantage, America's Best Inns and Suites, Country Hearth Inns, Jameson Inns, Signature Inn, and 3 Palms Hotels & Resorts.^[22][23]

Following up on its acquisition of Vantage and its nine brands, RLHC pared down its brand lineup and positioning in May 2017 to eliminate market position overlaps and provide its franchisees the flexibility to move between brands. In addition to retiring the Vantage name, the announcement eliminated five of the nine Vantage brands – keeping only Signature Inn, Americas Best Value Inn, Canadas Best Value Inn, and Country Hearth Inn & Suites. All five of Red Lion's pre-acquisition brands were maintained.^[24] The eliminated Vantage brands competed directly with Red Lion's existing brands or had a very small footprint. With the brand realignment, RLHC also subdivided its economy segment into three tiers – upper economy, economy, and lower economy – and promoted its existing GuestHouse brand to the upper economy segment. The retired Vantage brands and properties were reorganized into an RLHC-owned entity called the Stays Inns Collection.^[25]

 

Former logo of Red Lion Hotels Corporation, used until around July 2017, when it rebranded itself as RLH Corporation.

To reflect its growing portfolio of brands beyond its eponymously named Red Lion Hotels chain, the company quietly rebranded itself as RLH Corporation around July 2017, though still maintaining its legal name of Red Lion Hotels Corporation. In conjunction with this, the company also began using a new logo that could be best described as an evolution to the old logo, rather than a wholesale rebranding. The revised logo largely maintained the fonts, colors, and design language of its former logo, but removed the words "Red Lion Hotels" and placed a visual emphasis on the "RLH" acronym that was present in its former logo by enlarging and thickening the font, as well as enlarging and darkening the red square that the acronym resides in.

As a result of its acquisition of Vantage Hospitality, which transformed the company's footprint from regional to national, Red Lion Hotels Corporation moved its corporate headquarters from Spokane to Denver, Colorado, in August 2017, to be more centrally located to its franchisees, partners, vendors, and two regional offices. The former headquarters office in Spokane will be maintained as a regional office along with the former headquarters of Vantage Hospitality in Coral Springs, Florida.^[26][27]

On August 17, 2017, RLHC announced it had sold its TicketsWest business to Paciolan, a ticketing business which is owned by Learfield.^[28]

On April 4, 2018, RLHC announced it had reached an agreement with Wyndham Worldwide to acquire the Knights Inn brand for $27 million.^[29] The transaction closed on May 14, 2018.^[30]

On December 30, 2020, it was announced RLHC would be acquired by Sonesta International Hotels Corporation.^[31] The acquisition was finalized on March 17, 2021.^[32]

Hotels

Red Lion Hotels Corporation operates eight hotel brands within the following market segments:^[33]

Brand	Market segment
Hotel RL	Upscale
Red Lion Hotels	Upper midscale
Red Lion Inn & Suites	Midscale select service
Signature	Affordable boutique
GuestHouse Extended Stay	Upper economy extended stay
Americas Best Value Inn Canadas Best Value Inn	Economy
Knights Inn	Lower economy

Franchising

The Franchise Segment licenses the Red Lion brand to third-party hotel owners. As of 2009, there were approximately 17 franchised Red Lion hotels. Hotel owners can franchise as either a full-service Red Lion Hotel, which offer restaurant and banquet meeting space; a limited-service Red Lion Inn & Suites; or under the Leo Hotel Collection, for unique, boutique, or historic hotels.^[34] The Las Vegas Hotel & Casino was the first hotel to join the Leo Collection in February 2013.^[35]

Loyalty program

RLHC operates a loyalty program called Hello Rewards with support provided within a mobile app provided by Monscierge. Each qualifying stay will earn the guest 10 Hello Bucks, which can be used towards future stays with no blackouts.^[36]

Controversies

In mid-2008, Columbia Pacific Opportunity Fund, an investment manager for the Baty family, the Seattle founders of Emeritus Corporation, submitted an unsolicited acquisition offer of $9.50 per share to acquire Red Lion.^[37] At the time, Columbia Pacific held 12.7 percent of Red Lion.

By October, Columbia Pacific had withdrawn its offer and, shortly thereafter, the Red Lion board of directors enacted a poison pill plan, drawing the ire of Columbia Pacific which stated its belief that Red Lion should be liquidated because company-owned assets were in "excess of Red Lion's market capitalization".^[38]

Later that year, after the share price increased significantly, Red Lion removed its poison pill.

See also

•   Hotels portal

References

1. "Investor Presentation, May 29, 2018". Retrieved 1 June 2018.
2. "WestCoast Hospitality Corporation History". Funding Universe. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
3. "History". Explore the History of Goodale and Barbieri. Goodale & Barbieri Company. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
4. "Form S-1 (filed as of January 20, 1998) - Cavanaughs Hospitality Corporation". Search Historical SEC EDGAR Archives. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
5. Tinsley, Jesse (October 28, 2019). "Then and Now: TraveLodge River Inn". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
6. "Then and Now: Broadview Dairy". The Spokesman-Review. February 2, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
7. Off to a Strong Start: Cavanaughs Hospitality begins trading on NYSE
8. Cavanaughs Hospitality Corporation and WestCoast Hotels, Inc. Agree to Form One Hotel Company
9. Cavanaughs Hospitality Corporation Closes On Transaction With Westcoast Hotels, Inc.
10. Cavanaughs Hospitality Corporation Begins Trading Under New Symbol, Weh; Changes Name To Westcoast Hospitality Corporation
11. WestCoast Hospitality Corporation
12. WestCoast readies to expand
13. Hilton Signs Letter of Intent to Sell Red Lion Chain and Selected Doubletree Locations to Westcoast Hospitality
14. Wiley, John K. (January 18, 2002). "WestCoast hotel empire expands". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
15. Slack, Eric (November 1, 2008). . Welcome Magazine. RedCoat Publishing. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
16. "Red Lion Hotels Launches New Brand Image and Outlines Growth Initiatives". Search Historical SEC EDGAR Archives. US Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
17. "Red Lion Hotels Corporation to Spin Off G&B Real Estate Services". Hotel News Resource (Press release). April 12, 2006. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
18. Trejos, Nancy (April 23, 2015). "Red lion hotels to buy two economy, mid-scale brands". USA Today. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
19. HNN Newswire (April 24, 2015). "RLHC to acquire GuestHouse, Settle Inn brands". Hotel News Now. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
20. "GuestHouse CEO reveals twist in RLHC deal". Hotel News Now. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
21. Gale, Casey. "RLHC to Acquire GuestHouse and Settle Inn". Lodging Magazine. Lodging Media. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
22. "Red Lion Hotels Corporation Enters Into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Substantially All of Vantage Hospitality Group". Retrieved 22 October 2016.
23. "Red Lion Hotels Closes Acquisition of Vantage Ahead of Schedule". Retrieved October 22, 2016.
24. "Red Lion Hotels Corporation Unveils New Alignment of Brands". Hospitality Net. May 9, 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
25. "Home". Stays Inns Collection. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
26. "RLH Corporation Reports Second Quarter 2017 Results". RLHC (Red Lion Hotels Corporation). Retrieved August 4, 2017.
27. Kramer, Becky (August 3, 2017). "Parent of Red Lion Hotels moves corporate headquarters from Spokane to Denver". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
28. "Paciolan to Buy TicketsWest, WestCoast Ent. - International Ticketing Association". www.Intix.org. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
29. "Wyndham sells Knights Inn brand to Red Lion ahead of spin-off". Hotel Management. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
30. . Yahoo Finance. GlobalNewswire. 14 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-07-06. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
31. "RLH Corporation Announces Agreement to be Acquired by Sonesta International Hotels for $3.50 Per Share in Cash; Transaction Valued at Approximately $90 Million". 2020-12-30. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
32. "Sonesta completes acquisition of RLH Corporation". 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
33. "RLH Corporation Brand Overview" (PDF). Red Lion Hotels Corporation. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
34. "Red Lion Hotels Announces Brand in Development, The Leo Hotel Collection". shareholder.com.
35. "LVH - Las Vegas Hotel & Casino First to Join New Leo Hotel Collection". shareholder.com.
36. "Hello Rewards Sign Up | Red Lion Hotels". www.redlion.com. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
37. "Seattle firm drops bid for Red Lion Hotels", The Seattle Times, October 17, 2008, Accessed March 5, 2009.
38. "Red Lion Faces Shareholder Criticism". istockanalyst.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26.

External links

• Official website