🠈 Red Lion 🠊
Red Lion Hotels Corporation is an expanding hospitality and real estate development firm firm based in Spokane, Wa. The company trades on the NYSE with the symbol RLH.
The corporate entity was established as a development firm in Spokane in 1937 with the name Goodale & Barbieri Company. The firm entered the hospitality industry in 1976 with the purchase of the River Inn in Spokane. This company held an IPO in 1997 as Cavanaughs Hospitality Corporation with the symbol CVH.
The corporation bought Seattle based WestCoast Hotels in 2000 and changed its name to WestCoast Hospitality Corporation. It bought the Red Lion brand from Hilton Hotels in 2001 and again changed its name to Red Lion.
In 2015 Red Lion bought GuestHouse International and Settle Inn and Suites for $8.5 million. In 2016, Red Lion bought Vantage hospitality which owns the Americas Best Value Inn chain.
Red Lion Brand History
The Red Lion Brand entered the world when Tod McClaskey and Ed Pietz purchased Portland's "Thunderbird Motor Inn" in 1957, which they renamed to "Thunderbird-Red Lion Inns." They expanded the chain to 57 hotels by 1984 when they sold the firm to Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. for a reported $600 million.
The chain was bought by DoubleTree which rebranded most of the hotels. DoubleTree merged with a firm called Promus Hotels which, in turn, was acquired by Hilton Hotels before .
References:
- Wikipedia - Red Lions Corporation (Drawn 3/25/2017)
- Wikipedia - Red Lions Hotels (Drawn 3/25/2017)
- USA Today - Red Lion Buys Guesthouse (Drawn 3/25/2017)