Red Lion Parent Is Going Asset Light to Buy Up More Hotel Companies You Haven’t Heard Of
Photo Caption: The lobby of the Hotel RL Spokane at the Park in Spokane, Washington. Parent company RLH Corp. is looking to sell the property along with 10 others in pursuit of an asset-light hotel strategy. RLH Corp.
Skift Take
Last year, Red Lion's parent bought Vantage Hospitality. So, who's next?
As the hospitality industry gets more consolidated than ever, RLH Corp. is pursuing a crucial strategy to enable it to get bigger.
The board of directors of the Denver-based chain, which is the parent company of several hotel brands, including Red Lion, said October 5 it approved the sale of 11 of the company's remaining 18 owned-hotel properties.
The decision to sell those properties marks yet one more step in the company's pursuit of an asset-light strategy, which RLH began about four years ago, said chief financial officer Doug Ludwig.
It's a strategy the company is pursuing not only because it makes good business sense, but because it can help the company get event bigger by helping RLH "acquire franchise businesses similar to Vantage [Hospitality]," which Red Lion bought last year.
So, who would might RLH buy? Ludwig wouldn't name names, but he did give some hints.
"I think the difference, for our next few acquisitions, would be to go after upscale and midscale pro
