Lane Hospitality President & CEO Bill DeForrest speaking at this summer’s Midwest Lodging Investors Summit.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Lane Hospitality President & CEO Bill DeForrest. Two weeks ago, as incoming chairman of the IAHI he was addressing 4,000 owners and operators of IHG properties at the company’s annual conference in Las Vegas. While at the conference, he had to sneak away a few times to work on a more personal project: a deal he and members of his senior management team struck with the Lane family to acquire a “significant minority stake” in Lane Hospitality. The firm was formed in 1986 by the Chicago-based Lane family and has been part of Lane Industries since then. The firm has operated more than 100 properties, mostly in the IHG, Hilton, Marriott and Carlson brand families.

“The third generation of the family is now involved in the business, and for a number of years they’re been trying to figure out how to separate the family’s assets so each member can make his or her own investment decisions,” says DeForrest, who will continue to lead the hospitality firm. “They all have different interests, and this transaction helps them pursue their own goals.”

While the operating mission and structure of the company remains the same, a new governing board composed of two Lane family members, two outside directors and DeForrest will provide strategic guidance, particularly as it relates to investment decisions. “There will be very little change in my work activity, but now we have more certainty about the ownership structure and how we can move the company forward,” says DeForrest.

With the lodging market on the rebound, DeForrest says the company will focus on investment and third-party management opportunities in the arena in which it is most comfortable: high-quality mostly branded assets in secondary markets.

“While there haven’t been a lot of transactions in those markets recently, we expect that to change and we’re ready to take advantage of the opportunities,” he says. “Our strength is our ability to drive value to the real estate we operate by leveraging operational expertise and the power of the brands we work with.”

Part of DeForrest’s focus in 2011 will be on IAHI, the owners association within the IHG brand group. Speaking at the IHG conference in Las Vegas, DeForrest outlined an aggressive set of goals the association and IHG hope to accomplish in the coming year. Priorities include completion of the Holiday Inn relaunch, a repositioning of the Crowne Plaza brand and implementation of a new electronic property-level procurement program.