SPOKANE, WA - WestCoast Hospitality Corporation (NYSE:WEH) today reported results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2000. Total revenues for the quarter climbed 18.1%, from $28.0 million in the second quarter of 1999 to $33.0 million in the second quarter of 2000, while the Company continued preparations to move forward under one hotel brand. During the quarter, the Company sustained favorable RevPAR (Revenues Per Available Room) growth of 5.9%. We experienced very strong RevPAR growth in a number of markets, and hope to increase our penetration within all our markets with the re-branding of most of our Cavanaughs Hotels now complete, said Donald K. Barbieri, the Company's Chairman, President and CEO. As we stated in the first quarter, we expected continued integration costs of the acquisition of WestCoast Hotels, Inc. through the second
quarter of 2000, and we believe progress was made in that effort during the quarter that will help launch our WestCoast brand to a new level of customer awareness, customer satisfaction, and ultimately customer loyalty. During the first half of July, thirteen Cavanaughs Hotels were re-branded as WestCoast Hotels. Total revenues under management increased 73.1% during the quarter, from $32.4 million in the second quarter of 1999 to $56.0 million in the second quarter of 2000. During the same time
period, Earnings Per Share decreased $.09, from $0.24 to $0.15. The primary impact on the prior year comparison for the quarter was the seasonality of revenue streams and the off setting fixed costs associated with the
acquisition of WestCoast Hotels, Inc., in January 2000.
As a whole, our WestCoast branded hotels sustained higher RevPAR growth than our Cavanaughs hotels, stated Thomas Barbieri, Executive Vice President, Hotel Operations. Although some of this is a result of the
markets in which they are located, it is still a strong validation of our strategy. The Los Angeles and San Francisco markets were particularly strong, while Seattle's downtown experienced a softer quarter. Downtown
Seattle is facing a short-term challenge with the expansion of the city's Convention Center, continued Barbieri. With the growth of the cruise line industry in the Puget Sound, we think the city has a very strong future. We now need to put a major focus on our expenses, and start realizing the benefits of the integration of the brands. The Company's Central Purchasing department worked aggressively during the quarter to renegotiate
service contracts and provider relationships to ensure that all properties are benefiting from the increased purchasing power of the chain. Many of these programs went into effect during June. During the quarter, the
Company also added one property, in Bozeman, Montana, to its development pipeline. The WestCoast Bozeman Hotel is expected to open in summer 2001.
Both occupancy and rate drove RevPAR growth during the quarter. Occupancy for all owned, managed and franchised hotels increased 2.1%, from 65.2% in the second quarter of 1999, to 67.3% in the same period this year. During
the same period, Average Daily Rate (ADR) increased 2.7%, from $86.10 to $88.42. In an effort to boost both measures further, and to introduce former Cavanaughs hotel guests to WestCoast Hotels, and vice versa, the
Company will launch a new guest affinity program, called WestAwards(tm), in September 2000. The points based program will earn the customer points toward free night stays, event tickets through the Company's TicketsWest.com(tm) division, airline miles and more. We want that
longtime WestCoast customer to have as many reasons as possible to try one of our newly re-branded hotels, and we believe that our WestAwards(tm) program will be an effective tool to help that customer in the decision to
stay within our expanded WestCoast chain, said Lori Farnell, Vice President for Sales and Marketing.
WestAwards(tm) is only one of the programs the Company is developing to further leverage the relationship between its TicketsWest.com(tm) and hotel divisions. The Company's new website, set to launch this week, puts a focus on the relationship as well. When a hotel reservation is made via the website, it notifies the customer of entertainment that is available during
their stay, as well as one day previous and one day after their stay. Similarly, when a customer purchases an event ticket in a city in which there is a WestCoast Hotel, and if the customer is from an out of town address, the website prompts that customer to purchase a hotel room as
well. Approximately 25 of our 46 properties are in markets where we also provide entertainment, said Jack Lucas, Vice President, TicketsWest.com(tm). The markets where we provide entertainment are increasing, and we expect to be able to cross sell using this tool in many
more of our properties in the future. TicketsWest.com(tm) recently announced the addition of Vallitix, a Bakersfield, California based ticketing company, to its' website, where all Vallitix content will be sold via a private label TicketsWest.com(tm) website with inventory available from all Vallitix and TicketsWest.com(tm) events. TicketsWest.com(tm) will receive commissions for tickets sold via the website. TicketsWest.com(tm)
revenues increased 121%, or $584 thousand during the quarter, to $1.1 million. In the upcoming months, TicketsWest.com(tm) intends to initiate advertising sales on the website as an additional revenue stream.
In the Real Estate Division, revenues decreased $218 thousand, predominantly due to a one-time leasing fee made to the Company in the second quarter of 1999. The division continues to post high occupancies, with the company headquarters building at 100% and a company owned mall in Kalispell, Montana at 96.5% occupancy. Three tenants were signed during the second quarter in the Company owned Crescent Court, as demand for retail space increased leading up to the opening of the final phase of the River Park Square development, across the street from the Crescent Court. The new development contains many national retailers including Banana Republic, Nordstrom, Williams Sonoma, Anne Taylor, Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap (with Gap Body), GapKids (with babyGap), Pottery Barn, and Restoration Hardware. The final phase is scheduled to open during the fourth quarter of 2000.
Other factors affecting results during the quarter included higher interest rates than in the comparable period last year. Interest expense increased $1.4 million, from $2.3 million in the second quarter last year, to $3.7 million this year. Approximately $400 thousand of the increase was attributable to the increased interest rates. Depreciation and amortization
also increased, due to the WestCoast Hotels, Inc. acquisition and development and expansion within the TicketsWest.com(tm) division. This expansion has helped increase revenues in the TicketsWest.com(tm) division
114% during the first six months of the year versus the same period in 1999.
WestCoast Hospitality Corporation serves the western United States with 46 hotels containing 8,766 hotel rooms, in 9 states. WestCoast provides entertainment services through TicketsWest.com(tm), which encompasses
computerized ticketing operations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Colorado, and aggregates content for travel and entertainment that is sold in real-time at its www.TicketsWest.com website. TicketsWest.com(tm) also
includes WestCoast Entertainment, formerly Cavanaughs Entertainment, a Broadway and special event presenting company. G&B Real Estate Services is the real estate division of WestCoast Hospitality Corporation and owns
590,000 square feet of commercial real estate and manages 3.4 million square feet of Company and third party owned commercial real estate, and over 2,000 units of third party owned apartment and condominium properties.
This release contains forward looking statements which are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including those concerning the future products and activities of the Company. Investors are cautioned that all forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, risks
relating to the operation of hotels, the availability of capital to finance growth, disruptions in service due to construction, the historical cyclicality of the lodging industry, the integration of acquisitions, including WestCoast Hotels, the early development stage of the Company's TicketsWest.com(tm) product and its dependence on increased ticket sales, the unpredictability and potential fluctuations in future revenues and operating results, as well as the other matters discussed under the
headings business and risk factors in the Company's annual report on Form 10K for the 1999 fiscal year and other matters disclosed in the documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Company's actual results could differ materially from these statements.
SOURCE: WestCoast Hospitality Corporation (Company).
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