NEW YORK— WestCoast Hospitalitys Art Coffey told HOTEL BUSINESS® that the integration of systems from the Red Lion acquisition is nearing completion. “The next step will be to update all of the websites and to develop a modernized extranet system so that the properties can communicate with each other,” he noted. In addition, Coffey said the newly augmented national sales team for the WestCoast family of hotels is performing well and has already booked $1 million in business. As for continued expansion, he noted that the company is seeing a lot of interest in new franchises “because in this environment, people are reinventing themselves, and are looking at all options and choosing the one that makes the most sense.” The company is also focused on cross-selling its brands, which now consist of WestCoast Grands, WestCoast Resorts, WestCoast Hotels, Red Lion, Red Lion Inns and Red Lion Inns & Suites. The majority of new growth within the company, according to Coffey, will take place with the WestCoast Hotels and Red Lion brands, as the company looks to take them both nationwide. WestCoast completed the acquisition of Red Lion Hotels in December 2001 and now owns, manages and franchises more than 90 hotels in 16 states.— Shannon McMullen
