SPOKANE, Wash., Feb. 25, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Red Lion Hotels Corporation (NYSE: RLH) announced today its Anaheim property is the first hotel in the country to use a mobile interpretation device to bridge the communication gap with international travelers. RTT Mobile Interpretation's revolutionary ELSA™ (Enabling Language Service Anywhere) device deploys cell phone technology to connect directly with interpreters for real time communications in 180 languages.
"International guests experience a lot of anxiety when they travel to the U.S., wondering whether they will be understood and accepted," said Cindy Hooper, General Manager of the Red Lion Hotel Anaheim. "Because we are located right next to Disneyland, you can imagine how many international guests we have each year and, with the help of this device, we are overcoming a communication barrier for them.
"Our guests are so surprised and delighted by the technology that they vow to come back to our hotel over and over again," said Hooper. "In fact, we had a group staying with us from Japan that was so impressed we had the device that they signed a contract to come back and stay with us in 2015."
"We are thrilled to be the first hotel company to use the ELSA device," said Greg T. Mount, President and Chief Executive Officer of Red Lion Hotels Corporation. "We recognize the value of easy foreign language access and inclusiveness for all guests, as well as employees."
The ELSA device is intuitive and easy to use. The team at Red Lion Hotel Anaheim is piloting the device for the Red Lion Hotels network and already the company is planning additional installations at other locations.
"It is exciting to see such immediate positive results from new technology," said Hooper. "Even more exciting is to be able to help our international guests express their needs while they are here."
About Red Lion Hotels Corporation:
Red Lion Hotels Corporation is a hospitality company primarily engaged in the franchising, ownership and operation of hotels located in ten states and one Canadian province. As of February 25, 2014, the company has 54 hotels system wide. The Red Lion Hotels and Red Lion Inn & Suites network is comprised of 52 hotels with 9,014 rooms and 457,222 square feet of meeting space. The Leo Hotel Collection is comprised of two hotels with 3,256 rooms and 241,000 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.
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