SPOKANE, WA? ?Clicks and bricks? is the new dynamic for Cavanaughs Hospitality Corp. following the close of its acquisition of WestCoast Hotels on March 1. Now known as WestCoast Hospitality Corp., the Northwest-dominant company plans to grow aggressively throughout the West, pushing full-throttle on web-based synergies and scooping up ?independents who want to affiliate with a full-service brand that is aggressive in its market segment approach to selling,? said Donald Barbieri, chairman/president/CEO of the new publicly traded entity, which owns, manages and franchises properties. Barbieri, who moved laterally from his position at Cavanaughs, noted that brand name has ceased to exist and the ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange has switched from CVH to WEH. ?We felt after doing some research the WestCoast brand was easier and better to explain? one we would be able to grow and export easier than the Cavanaughs brand. It?s kind of check your ego at the door,? he said. Eighteen of 19 Cavanaughs properties now hoist WestCoast flags (one was dropped from the system for not meeting WC standards), bringing the company?s total to 45 properties representing approximately 8,700 rooms in nine states. The company is establishing two brand levels, WestCoast Hotels and WestCoast Grand Hotels. ?Cavanaughs and WestCoast hotels are very similar. We?re taking three-star, three-diamond properties as WestCoasts and four-stars as Grands, which we?ll continue to add to grow the brand,? said Barbieri. Currently in the Grand portfolio are reflagged Cavanaughs properties in Spokane and Seattle, and repositioned WC properties The Benson Hotel and the Riverplace Hotel in Portland, OR; the Grove Hotel, Boise, ID; Hotel Lusso, Spokane; and the Valley River Inn, Eugene, OR. Other WestCoast properties are located in Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and California. Over 50% of the properties in the portfolio are owned and 13 are franchised, said the CEO, with about $700 million worth of total assets and $210 million of revenues ?directly under our management.? ?Going forward, our strategy is to franchise and take ?sliver? ownerships in hotels, where we?re going to use our annual revenues primarily to be a sliver investor. For example, someone wants to come into the system. They?re a great location, but frankly, might need some capital upgrading in FF&E to meet our standards. We might take a position up to 20% to help get them up to the level to be a player. So they know we?re pulling on the same oar as they are as an owner and have a financial interest in what they?re doing. You probably won?t see us go out and acquire ?one-opps? or entire ownership positions, but use our capital more to acquire and spread the brand throughout the region we?re targeting,? said Barbieri. Another area the CEO sees drawing in franchisees is the company?s ability to offer a central purchasing program. ?Offering that type of clout to the independent is really appealing to them because it takes the top-line revenue and brings it down to the EBITDA line without having to grow the top-line revenue. We?re going to be very effective in doing that and bringing in new franchisees in 2000,? said Barbieri. Helping that is WestCoast?s strategic alliance with Coast Hotels, a 20-property Canadian company. ?We?re going through a checklist of items we should do together: central purchasing, sales forces, merging call centers, marketing and Internet integration. While they?re still cross-border owned we?re pulling all those elements into one package,? said Barbieri. Another key strategy being layered in is the merger of Cavanaughs?, WestCoast?s and Coast?s websites with the company?s TicketsWest.com site, an entertainment and leisure portal that offers hotel reservations, event ticketing and leisure packaging. ?The combination of TicketsWest with WestCoast is going to allow us to roll out an affinity program called WestAwards, a fulfillment pro
