Source: Vantage
vantage hospitality group

In what is certainly a milestone not just for Vantage Hospitality Group, Inc. but for the entire lodging industry, the parent company of Americas Best Value Inn® and the Lexington Collection® of hotels, inns and suites announced today, at the AAHOA National Convention in Las Vegas, that it has hit the 1,000 property mark in just 11 short years of operation.

"Beyond the birth of my children, this is definitely the most incredible day of my life," said Roger Bloss, Founder, CEO, and President of Vantage Hospitality Group. "I am so fortunate to be in business with my best friends. Together, we have created a hotel company that has not only revolutionized the industry, but more importantly, has given hotel owners throughout the world a business model that provides more freedom, greater revenue, and a voice in the direction of their hotel brand. Vantage and our brands, Americas Best Value Inn and the Lexington Collection, are successful, not only because of our outstanding corporate team, but because of the hotel owners and their staffs who make up our memberships."

Bloss was joined by partners Bernie Moyle, COO & CFO; Peter Frantz, Marketing Director; Gene Kordoban, Director of Industry Affairs and Membership Development; and Bill Hanley, Group President of the Lexington Collection.

Vantage burst on the scene 11 years ago with the launch of its first hotel brand, Americas Best Value Inn. With a new business model developed by Bloss, owners who were accustomed to the burdens of high royalties and constant mandates that their franchisors demanded suddenly had access to a membership brand that charged low, flat fees based on the number of rooms; provided short-term renewable contracts; did not penalize them with liquidated damages; allowed them to choose many of their amenities and services based on their market niche; and perhaps most meaningfully, gave them a voice and a vote in the direction of the brand.

Putting its money where its mouth is, Vantage requires that any new initiative – including fees – must be presented to the membership at the company's annual meeting in December. An approval by at least 66% of the voting members is needed to pass a measure. It is truly democracy in action and was unheard of in the industry before Vantage came on the scene just over a decade ago.

"Have you ever heard of a company that allows its customers to tell you how much they are going to pay you?" Bloss asked. "It's a very different and dynamic proposition that works because the hotel owners we attract are smart business owners who understand their market niches, and realize that a dollar invested with us will bring a greater return on investment than with any other hotel brand."

The first Vantage hotel to come on the scene in 1999 was an Americas Best Value Inn located in Inglewood, CA and owned by Ray Kumar. Today, Kumar remains heavily involved with the brand as an Advisory Board member and opened the company's first Value Inn Worldwide located near the Los Angeles airport in 2009. "Vantage is my family," he said. "The relationships – both professional and personal – that I have developed with Roger, Bernie and so many of the members are very important to me. There isn't another hotel brand out there that will give you the attention and resources to succeed."

Hanley, group president of the Lexington Collection, announced that the 1,000th property to join the Vantage family is the Lexington Hotel Key West, located in Key West, FL. Managed by Hostmark Hospitality, the 141-room resort is the 24th Lexington currently in the system or under development since the brand began in fourth quarter 2007.

But as Bloss explained, it isn't really about the 1,000th property, but about the journey that got this "little hotel company that could" to the point they are at now. "This has been an incredible ride and we have no plans to sit back and rest now. While we will certainly continue to grow at an accelerated rate, what we won't do is lose sight of the close-knit family environment we have worked so hard to create. My door is open to our members and my phone is always on. The same can be said for Bernie, Pete, Gene, Bill and any Vantage team member here today."

For more information about Vantage and its brands, please visit www.VantageHospitality.com, www.AmericasBestValueInn.com and www.LexingtonCollection.com or call 888-316-2378.

Al Cohen
PR Manager
888-316-2378
Vantage