LAS VEGAS—Vantage Hospitality Group, parent company of Americas Best Value Inns and Lexington, had good news for attendees to its annual conference held this week at the Golden Nugget Hotel here. In addition to growing the size of its portfolio, the company also announced plans for a new select service product tied to its Lexington brand.
Vantage president/CEO Roger Bloss stressed to the companys owners that Vangages freestyle model, an alternative to the traditional franchised hotel model, remains a key component to its success. “Our fair franchise philosophy remains the backbone of the company today and is what continues to differentiate us,” he said. “And as our Vantage family continues to expand, there are more and more opportunities to streamline our business…Were the un-franchise. Our fees are still voted on by our membership.”
In addition to adding 130 new hotels this year, Vantage also made a concerted effort to enforce brand consistency. “We non-renewed 60 non-conforming properties this year,” Bloss said, and was happy to report Vantage maintained its position as the 10th largest hotel company in the world with 973 properties. “For 2011 we will continue our aggressive growth strategy for all our brands and well continue to put our members first.”
Bloss also announced the launch of an extension of the upscale Lexington Collection brand that will target the select service segment. “We have properties in Minnesota and Arkansas already signed and are currently developing strategies to acquire and rebrand existing hotels—wed like to add one hotel per month through that model,” he said.