Los Angeles - Newly
appointed Red Lion Hotel Corp. president and CEO Greg Mount said growing corporate
and group travel will be among the midprice hotel company's priorities as it "increases
the velocity" of planned expansion beyond its predominantly Western U.S. operations.
A veteran hotel executive whose experience includes
positions at Marriott, Starwood, Interstate and most recently president of
Richfield Hospitality, Mount in mid-January took the leadership role at Red
Lion. In an interview with Business
Travel News during the Americas Lodging Investment Summit here, Mount said corporate
business would be a "continued focus" for Red Lion.
Red Lion's in-house global sales team is "constantly
driving business to our hotels and have had a couple of successful years
recently," Mount said. He also expects channel management to be a driver
of more corporate business.
"Corporations create these local negotiated rates, but
they really don't have any control over how people are booking," he said. "You'll
see that dynamic start to unhinge a little bit as we move forward, and it may
become more about price than it will be about a negotiated deal at a specific
hotel."
As such, Mount said Red Lion would be exploring distribution
strategies with technology that examines at what rates and through which
channels advance bookings are occurring rather than the more traditional
strategy of looking at market shares and rates after stays are complete.
The need for that updated strategy will be exacerbated as
corporate travelers become less tied to hotel loyalty programs, Mount said. Red
Lion has its own loyalty program, the R&R Club, but he acknowledged that
the hotel loyalty space is beginning to fracture.
"With Expedia and Travelocity and all of those folks
getting into that space, it's becoming less of a decision-making point,"
Mount explained. "It's less about the points now and more about the
recognition, and that's what we're trying to focus on as well."
Last year, Red Lion's sales team also focused on growing
group business, and Mount said he would continue that strategy.
"We're competitive on our rates, and we're going to
continue to focus on providing additional services where we can to create
value," he said. "The good news is that the group markets have come
back to some degree."
Mount also is charged with overseeing an expansion strategy established
before his appointment last month. Red Lion early last year divided its portfolio into
three distinct brands—the full-service Red Lion Hotels, the limited-service Red
Lion Inns & Suites and the soft boutique brand Leo Hotels—and later in the
year announced that it would accelerate expansion through franchising, joint
ventures and licensing.
Red Lion is best known in the Western states, and the
company still is looking at growing in the region's larger metropolitan areas
and gateway cities. However, it also is "looking for opportunities in
Mid-America all the way over to the East Coast," Mount said. "The
brand's DNA plays well in the West, but will do just as well in the East."