Astoria’s Red Lion Inn set for remodel, improvements

Published 4:00 pm Sunday, December 5, 2004

Parent company announces plans to sell 11 hotelsKen Bryan is one excited hotel manager.

The parent company for the Astoria Red Lion Inn has announced it is selling 11 of its hotels. The action is designed to raise more cash to remodel and improve the remaining hotels – including the 124-room Astoria Inn.

“It is the best thing to happen to this hotel in a long time,” said Bryan, general manager of the Astoria hotel, which saw some remodeling earlier this year.

The hotel’s owner, WestCoast Hospitality Corp. of Spokane, Wash., announced plans last week to sell 11 of its hotels, including Red Lion Inns in Hillsboro and Aberdeen, Wash. The Astoria hotel is not on the for-sale list.

At the same time, executives announced plans to invest $40 million to revitalize

the remaining Red Lion Inns in the company’s region, which covers 12 Western states

and British Columbia. Some 31 hotels, including Astoria, will have fresh decor and more modern technology.

“WestCoast continues to strengthen its hotel business,” said Arthur Coffey, president and chief executive officer of WestCoast Hospitality Corporation. “This investment builds on the $11 million we have invested since the beginning of this year in areas where customers’ quality expectations are continuing to grow.”

The company began in Spokane in the 1930s and its real estate holdings and other operations grew as it took over Cavenaugh properties and branched out into other hospitality areas, including event ticketing. It completed its purchase of the Red Lion chain at the end of 2001.

Bryan said he expects the work to go ahead during the next 18 months. It will focus on improved rooms and the exterior, although no new rooms will be added, he said.