Red Lion Takes Charge Sheraton Name Comes Off Downtown Spokane Hotel

Workers Friday began removing the Sheraton sign that shines over downtown Spokane as the hotel began its transformation into a Red Lion.

Red Lion Hotels Inc. Friday signed the final documents to complete the acquisition of the 369-room hotel at 422 W. Spokane Falls Court.

The conversion was well under way inside the hotel Friday. Bellhops and clerks in blue suits sported name tags with the Red Lion motif. A flashing sign in the lobby welcomed guests to the Red Lion. Stationary and other items with the Sheraton logo were being replaced in guest rooms.

More than half of the 300 former Sheraton employees who received layoff notices in September have been rehired by the Red Lion, said Red Lion spokesperson Kerri Culbertson.

Almost 900 people applied for between 275 and 300 positions at the new Red Lion, Culbertson said. “We saw that as a positive response to our being in the local market,” she said. Applications are still being accepted.

Among management, some are former Sheraton employees, others are Red Lion people from other cities, and others were hired in the Spokane area, said General Manager Lynn Ericksen, who relocated to Spokane after nine years with a Red Lion in Sacramento, Calif.

Just after midnight Friday, Red Lion employees took over the hotel. Between 35 and 50 people were sent to Spokane from corporate offices in Vancouver, Wash., to facilitate the transition. The entire conversion should take between 60 and 90 days, Ericksen said.

The Sheraton’s parent company, ITT Corp., last year announced plans to sell the franchise rights to all Sheraton hotels except the ones it owns as part of a broad restructuring “At a total cost of $19 million, we will have the premier hotel in Spokane at approximately half its replacement cost,” said David J. Johnson, Red Lion chairman and chief executive officer. “Red Lion will continue to use its cash and credit lines for growth opportunities.”

The renovation is expected to be completed in mid-1996 and will include guest rooms, meeting rooms, and all public areas, including two restaurants and two lounges.

All guest rooms will be refurnished, from wallpaper to carpeting, Ericksen said.

There are no immediate plans to change the names or operations of any of the restaurants or lounges, he said.

Some workers moved methodically through guest rooms Friday replacing Sheraton items with Red Lion items. Next week, irons, ironing boards and coffee makers - socalled “signature items” of Red Lion - will be put in every room.

“We’re trying to make the rooms more like home,” said Bruce Fery, Red Lion’s vice president of rooms.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo