Hotel & Motel Management - March 17, 2008 - (Page 36) 36 Special Report H&MM March 17, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition providing P RO F I TA B L E S O LU T I O N S for TODAY’S owners, asset m anagers an ger s ge and lenders vice Man ement Con ce Management n xperience in Multiple Franchises erience Franchises and Varied Mar Life in the fast Lane Illinois-based company targets secondary markets for expansion By Jeff Higley CONTRIBUTING EDITOR L C O N TA C T: Scott McMahon VICE PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPMENT 410-749-8464 smcmahon@marshallhotels.com M A R S H A L L M A N A G E M E N T, I N C . Serving the Hotel Industry Since 1980 www.marshallhotels.com CIRCLE NO. 142 ane Hospitality is spreading its wings by making its portfolio more upscale. The strategy is paying off, according to Bill DeForrest, president and c.e.o. of the Northbrook, Ill.based company. During 2007, the company added a number of properties and increased its total revenue 20 percent, to more than $120 million. With the scheduled openings of more than $60 million in projects, DeForrest said expectations are soaring. “At the end of 2008, our portfolio will be the best we’ve ever had—both with the physical assets and the people,” DeForrest said during a break at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in Los Angeles in January. “We’re expecting a banner year, even if the economy stagnates a little.” Lane, which was launched in 1986, invests in and manages hotels across the country. It has 23 properties open with a half dozen more ready to hit the market. “We love the second-tier markets,” DeForrest said. “We look at markets like New York and say, ‘we just can’t compete for assets there.’ So, we’ll be in northern New Jersey. Instead of Washington, we’re in Annapolis. Instead of Chicago, we’re in Schaumburg.” In 2007, the company added hotels in Jackson, Miss.; St. Louis; Sunland Park, Texas (near El Paso); Annapolis, Md.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Quail Springs, Okla. (near Oklahoma City); and Vernon Hills, Ill. (near Chicago). Projects slated to be completed in 2008 include hotels in Wauwatosa, Wis. (near Milwaukee); Annapolis, Md.; Lake Placid, N.Y.; and Gloucester, Va. The company this year will reopen a hotel in Gulfport, Miss. It bought the property as a Holiday Inn in 2005—just a few months before Hurricane Katrina—and will reopen as a Courtyard by Marriott. “It took everything off the first floor—carpet, tubs, sinks—they were all gone,” DeForrest said. “But structurally, it was sound.” There were a handful of people in the hotel during the storm. Today Show coverage showed a van in the hotel’s lobby. “I knew it was our hotel and knew then the extent of the damage,” DeForrest said. “We’re looking forward to getting it opened again and showing it off.” Lane added 6,000 square feet of meeting space and built a new common area to meet Courtyard specifications. See Fast Lane | page 38 CIRCLE NO. 147 http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.marshallhotels.com http://www.marshallhotels.com http://www.parkplacehg.com http://www.parkplacehg.com
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