Saskatoon, February 21. Airline Hotels, the Prairie-based hospitality company operating out of Saskatoon, has been named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies for 2011.

Airline Hotels owns and operates the Travelodge Hotel Saskatoon, Hilton Garden Inn Saskatoon, Four Points by Sheraton Edmonton South, the Valhalla Inn Thunder Bay and Country Inns & Suites By Carlson in Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg.

Deloitte, CIBC, Queen’s School of Business and the National Post sponsor the Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies program, which recognizes overall business performance, sustained growth and the efforts of the entire organization.

“This award benchmarks us against other successful private companies and validates our management strategy,” said Lana Doke, Chief Executive Office. “We focus on being a good employer, growing the business, keeping our balance sheet strong, and encouraging the family culture established by our founders, Harold and Vilda Latrace. The strength of our management team reflects the strength of our 800 associates.”

Airline Hotels experienced several highlights in the past year. In addition to being named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies, the company acquired three additional hotels, and the President, Betty Anne Latrace-Henderson, received the 2011 PROFIT Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship.

About Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies program Established in 1993, Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies program is the country’s leading business awards program, recognizing excellence in Canadian-owned and-managed companies with revenues over $10 million. Every year, hundreds of entrepreneurial companies compete for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates the calibre of their management abilities and practices. It is Canada’s most prestigious award to private businesses. For more details visit www.canadas50best.com  

About Airline Hotels A family-founded, second-generation, hospitality company, Airline Hotels owns and operates seven hotels in four provinces. Based in Saskatchewan and employing over 800 associates, Airline Hotels ranks among Saskatchewan’s Top 20 Employers, Canada’s Top 50 Employers for Youth and the Top 100 Companies of Saskatchewan.

For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Jeri-Lynn Johnston, Corporate Director of Sales and Marketing at 306-374-6000.

Saskatoon, November 29. Women of Influence has named Betty Anne Latrace- Henderson the recipient of the 2011 PROFIT Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship. Betty-Anne, President of Airline Hotels, was honoured at a gala event in Toronto last night, along with other finalists of the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards.

Each year, the PROFIT Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship goes to a woman entrepreneur who has built a successful company with a track record of growth, profitability and industry leadership. The award recognizes the entrepreneur’s skills, success, drive, managerial acumen, leadership traits and role as a model for all who believe in the power of entrepreneurship.

“Entrepreneurship is one of our values,” said Betty-Anne, “and something that we encourage each of our associates to express. We want people to ‘own’ their hotel properties and the work they do there. I am sharing this honour with the 800+ entrepreneurs working with Airline Hotels.”

About the RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Awards
The RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards are the pre-eminent national business awards recognizing the country’s leading female entrepreneurs. The awards are an initiative of Women of Influence Inc. For more information, visit www.womenofinfluence.ca or www.theawards.ca

About Airline Hotels
A family-founded, second-generation, hospitality company, Airline Hotels owns and operates seven hotels in four provinces. Based in Saskatchewan and employing over 800 associates, Airline Hotels ranks among Saskatchewan’s Top 20 Employers, Canada’s Top 50 Employers for Youth and the Top 100 Companies of Saskatchewan. The company attributes much of its success to a culture of family values that creates such a welcome for guests and associates. Respect, integrity, teamwork, and entrepreneurship make it fun to work, or stay, at Four Points by Sheraton Edmonton South; Travelodge Hotel Saskatoon; Hilton Garden Inn Saskatoon; Valhalla Inn Thunder Bay; and Country Inns & Suites by Carlson in Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg. Visit the website at www.airlinehotels.ca

For more information, or to arrange an interview with Betty-Anne, please contact:
Jeri-Lynn Johnston
Corporate Director of Sales and Marketing
(306) 244-6626

Regina, SK

Betty Anne Latrace-Henderson, President of Airline Hotels announces the company’s continued expansion with the purchase of three Country Inns Suites by Carlson, located in Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. With this purchase, Airline Hotels owns and operates seven hotels in four provinces.

“Growing our business is one of our key objectives,” said Lana Doke, CEO of Airline Hotels.  “These three new hotels complement our existing properties very well. We now have a presence in Regina, so we can better serve our guests who travel between Regina and Saskatoon. We already own Valhalla Inn in Thunder Bay. Adding the Country Inns & Suites in Winnipeg provides an option for our customers travelling between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg.” In the coming months Airline Hotels will uphold the reputation it has earned for making capital improvements to purchased properties. By the end of 2013, Country Inns & Suites guests will enjoy newly renovated breakfast rooms, lobbies and rooms.

The three new properties are almost identical. Each is located close to airports, restaurants and shopping, have 76 hotel rooms and a guest breakfast area. The rooms are spacious and each property offers larger suites and direct outside access off main floor rooms.   The Country Inns & Suites by Carlson are “Select Service” meaning they do not have a full restaurant, lounge, or bar. “These properties will be complementary to our other full service hotels,” explains Ms. Doke. “Select Service is becoming more and more common in our industry. Guests travelling for both business and pleasure appreciate the convenience offered by Select Service.”

Airline Hotels will begin operating the three hotels on August 5^th 2011. Ms. Doke has personally invited the existing employees to become associates of Airline Hotels. “We want to be a good employer,” adds Ms. Doke. “It’s another of our key objectives. Country Inns & Suites have employed great people and we look forward to having them join Airline Hotels.”

Airline Hotels is a second-generation, family-founded, hospitality company, based out of Saskatchewan that owns and operates seven hotels in four provinces. Airline Hotels employs 800 associates and is one of Saskatchewan’s Top 20 Employers and one of Canada’s Top 50 Employers for Youth.  www.airlinehotels.ca

For more information:

Jeri-Lynn Johnston

Corporate Director of Sales and Marketing

306.244.6626