SPOKANE, Wash., July 10, 2012 – Red Lion Hotels Corporation (NYSE: RLH) announced today Ron Burgett has joined the company as Executive Vice President, Brand Development.

“Ron brings precisely the right mix of expertise to our team,” said Jon E. Eliassen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Red Lion Hotels Corporation.  “He is well-known and well-regarded throughout the hospitality industry and we have tremendous confidence in his ability to lead the franchise development program at Red Lion Hotels.”

Burgett has nearly two decades of experience in franchising and franchise relations, brand management, sustainable development, sales growth and new business development. He joins the Red Lion Hotels team from Northcott Hospitality, the parent company of AmericInn, where he was Executive Vice President of Development. In addition, he was President and a Partner of Hospitality Sales Group, a national commercial real estate brokerage firm.  Prior to that, Burgett served in several capacities at Choice Hotels International, most recently as National Vice President of Franchise Sales and Development.

In his new role, Burgett will head franchise and brand development for Red Lion Hotels.

“I am pleased to be joining a great team already in place,” said Ron Burgett, Executive Vice President of Brand Development for Red Lion Hotels Corporation.  “Red Lion is a respected brand within the hospitality industry, and has consistently outperformed its competitive set, which positions us well for further franchise growth. Building a stronger brand in targeted markets in the U.S. and Canada will remain our strategic goal and we will be implementing tactical enhancements to our franchise sales effort to drive additional growth for the brand."

Red Lion Hotels Corporation is a hospitality and leisure company primarily engaged in the ownership, operation and franchising of midscale hotels under its Red Lion® brand. As of March 31, 2012, the RLH hotel network was comprised of 48 hotels located in nine states and one Canadian province, with 9,010 rooms and 452,387 square feet of meeting space.  The company also owns and operates an entertainment and event ticket distribution business. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.redlion.com.