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As the lodging options available to travelers diversify far beyond those of traditional hotels, legacy brands find themselves needing to differentiate their services for each kind of guest.
Taking a page directly from the competitors’ playbook, Spokane, Washington-based Red Lion Hotels Corporation has answered shareholders’ and franchisees’ calls for a more focused direction by splitting into three defined brand segments—Red Lion Hotels, Red Lion Inn & Suites and the Leo Hotel Collection.
Announced during the Americas Lodging Investment Summit, the reorganization will include new logos for all three segments and the company’s foray into what has become known in the industry as a “soft brand” collection of hotels.
Burgett said Red Lion’s ideal goal is to own 50% of its assets and franchise the other 50%. To accomplish that goal it may need to sell an additional handful of properties or—a more popular objective—add a number of franchised properties to the portfolio. As of year-end 2012, there were 48 Red Lion hotels.
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Photo credit: The Red Lion Hotel in southeast Denver, Colorado. Red Lion Hotel Denver / Flickr