Having secured the nationwide presence it once coveted, Spokane-based hotel chain operator Red Lion Hotels Corp. is looking to expand its footprint further, says company President and CEO Gregory T. Mount. 

Specifically, Mount says, Red Lion’s recently completed acquisition of Coral Springs, Fla.-based Vantage Hospitality Group Inc. gave it a strong presence throughout the U.S.—and to a smaller degree, internationally—in the economy-hotel market. Now, it expects to use that presence for all of its brands, including Red Lion Inns & Suites and the luxury Hotel RL brand.

“This gives us the ability to compete on a national level on the midscale and upscale properties, which is our goal,” he says.  

At 1,200 hotels in 48 U.S. states, six Canadian provinces, and abroad, Red Lion has taken a quantum jump from the beginning of 2014, when the company had 55 hotels in 20 states. 

The company’s growth thus far appears to have been received well by investors and analysts alike. From Nov. 10 to Nov. 28, the company’s stock traded consistently at between $9 and $9.40 a share, cracking the $9 mark last month for the first time since October of 2015, data on the company’s website show. The company’s stock, which trades under the RLH symbol, had a 12-month low of $5.79 per share last February. 

The two analysts that follow Red Lion, Los Angeles-based B. Riley & Co. and Minneapolis-based Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, both had rated Red Lion’s stock as a “strong buy” as of Nov. 29. 

“Our stock price has shown the public values transactions like the Vantage acquisition,” Mount says.

Headquartered at 201 W. North River Drive on the periphery of downtown Spokane, Red Lion employs a total of 1,960 people companywide, about 80 of whom are located in Spokane. 

With the Vantage acquisition, Red Lion now has in its system 1,200 hotels under 14 brands with a total of 73,000 guest rooms. All but 22 of those properties are franchisee owned and managed, aligning with the company’s more recent “asset-light” approach, which is characterized by a focus on franchise relationships rather than owning and managing hotels.

Texas is home to the largest number of the former Vantage hotels, with 135 properties in the Lone Star State, followed by 122 in California and 66 in Georgia.

About 870 of the former Vantage hotels are under the Americas Best Value Inn brand, and just over 40 are America’s Best Inns. The other 130-some hotels under eight different brands, and Mount says the company might consolidate some brands in the near future. 

For perspective, Red Lion now is larger than La Quinta Holdings Inc., the Irving, Texas-based company that operates about 800 La Quinta Inns & Suites and other brands, but it’s substantially smaller than the 6,300-property Choice Hotels chain, which operates Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, and a handful of other brands. 

Speaking of the gap in size between Red Lion and Choice, Mount says, “It shows the white space and the opportunities we have for growth.”

Red Lion acquired Vantage for $22.7 million in cash and 690,000 shares of common stock, which were worth roughly $5.7 million when the transaction was completed, a filing with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says. The companies completed the transaction on Oct. 3, about a month ahead of schedule.

Red Lion has stated that it expects the Vantage acquisition to begin contributing to its earnings within 12 months. The company currently is converting the former Vantage franchisees to the Red Lion guest-management system, which includes central reservation management, revenue management, marketing, analytics, and performance measurements, among other tools. 

Mount says those tools should help its new franchisees improve their performance. 

Mount says the company is keeping pace on its “100 hotels in 100 weeks” campaign that it launched in early 2015, through which it would open or sign new franchise agreement for 100 properties. He says he expects to meet that goal when the 100-week deadline arrives late this year. 

For future growth, Red Lion plans to pursue more franchise relationships and is open to additional acquisitions, Mount says. The company is targeting the top 100 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. and expects to be able to work with current franchisees to convert additional properties. 

“We’ve already seen the ability to work with those owners vertically,” Mount says, meaning that some are looking at either opening or converting additional properties under the Red Lion Inns & Suites or Hotel RL brands. 

At its current size, Mount says, Red Lion has a ubiquity it hasn’t had in the past, which gives the company greater purchasing power and enables it to extends its marketing reach. 

Also, he says, “One of the things that’s really important is that consumers will start to recognize RLHC brands in ways they haven’t before. It really allows us to bring the RLHC brands to the forefront for consumers.”

Red Lion also has struck a deal with travel website Expedia.com that he believes will help the company and its franchisees. Under the arrangement, Expedia customers will be able to book rooms at Red Lion’s lower “loyalty” rates, but to do so, those customers must sign up for Red Lion’s Hello Rewards membership program. 

“Hotels are always fighting back on OTAs (online travel agencies), but unless you’re Marriott, Starwood, or Hilton, you can’t ignore that marketplace,” he says. “We’re really excited about what we’re doing on the digital side.”

In its most recently quarterly report, Red Lion Hotels posted third-quarter net income of $2.3 million, or 11 cents a diluted share, up from $809,000, or 4 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. 

Systemwide revenue per available room, an industry performance gauge known as RevPAR, increased by 3.4 percent during the quarter, compared with the year-earlier quarter.