INN PLAY.(WestCoast Hospitality Corp. to acquire hotels from Hilton Hotel Corp.)

Don Barbieri doubles WestCoast Hospitality's reach for the second time in as many years

Don Barbieri, chief executive of WestCoast Hospitality Corp., is fluffing the pillows again in hopes that a formidable competitor will make a better bedfellow.

WestCoast's just-signed agreement to purchase 47 Red lion and Doubletree hotels from Hilton Hotel Corp. marks the second time in two years that the Spokane-based hotel chain has doubled its size through acquisition.

Hilton, with its focus on top tier-one markets like Los Angeles, has had little interest in the mainly smaller markets served by its Red lion and Doubletree hotels. But analysts say the properties are a nice fit for WestCoast, which speciallzes in midprice three- and four-star hotels in smaller primary markets like Seattle, secondary markets like Spokane and tertiary markets like Idaho Falls.

"It's their market, geographically and conceptually," said Andy Olsen, managing director of The Chambers Group in Seattle. …