Red Roof revealed a number of new initiatives, including a new partnership with HotelKey and a new dual-brand prototype, at its 2022 brand conference held at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO, as it kicks off its 50th anniversary.
George Limbert, president, Red Roof, said that initiatives will help the company deal with the uncertainty that may face the industry going forward. “It’s an unpredictable environment,” he said. “We know that things are changing; they’re changing by the minute; they’re changing by the second. The climate is changing, but it is our vision that is going to be the guiding light for Red Roof to get us through all of these kinds of unpredictable circumstances we find ourselves in.”
HotelKey partnership
The company has collaborated with HotelKey on an advanced enterprise hospitality platform for property management, central reservations, inventory management, loyalty integration and a suite of other products.
“The impact of this state-of-the-art system for both our franchisees and guests underscores our commitment to delivering the best experience and value in the lodging industry,” said Limbert. “HotelKey’s technology builds upon our legacy programs providing the most effective solutions to help franchisees streamline operations and ultimately benefit our guests.”
This partnership enables franchisees to more effectively manage their properties from any device: desktop, tablet or mobile. To bolster information exchange, HotelKey enhances integration with third-party OTAs. The software also integrates hotel operations, including the front desk, accounts receivable, housekeeping and maintenance, point of sale, and inventory management.
“A major benefit of HotelKey’s platform is its user-friendly, self-guided training technology,” said Ted Hutchins, chief information officer, Red Roof. “This is a game changer for front desk managers and will simplify onboarding and ongoing training.”
Aditya Thyagarajan, cofounder/president, HotelKey, added, “HotelKey is committed to building state-of-the-art products for the hospitality industry, and our partnership with Red Roof provides a robust next-generation enterprise platform to support the brand’s franchise community. Our collaboration with Red Roof reflects what they are known for, ‘Genuine Relationships. Real Results.’ which we are leveraging to ultimately benefit their franchisees and guests.”
“At HotelKey, since the inception, we’ve purpose-built our hospitality platform for the enterprise chains,” said Fareed Ahmad, cofounder/CEO, HotelKey. “Our platform is not only full of enterprise-grade features and functionality; it also enables our enterprise clients to build and compose new proprietary guest experiences using our core platform APIs. We’re very excited to welcome 675 Red Roof properties to experience our platform and enable the Red Roof brand to build new experiences using our core platform. Moreover, the partnership will also allow us to build a hospitality-native loyalty system, which will become a standard offering for our current and future clients.”
New prototype
The company also introduced a new dual-branded prototype for its Red Roof and HomeTowne Studios brands. The new prototype combines the efficiencies of a shared lobby and common area with streamlined back-of-the-house operations, enabling a hotel to operate with maximum staff efficiency, the company reports. For guests, the prototype brings together the design advantages of modern Red Roof hotel rooms with extended-stay rooms including kitchenettes and additional storage for extended-stay guests.
“Our dual-branded hotels provide today’s economy hotel guests with a diverse product offering that anticipates their every need, and our franchisees with a new, updated design that draws on innovative space improvements to enhance operations, keep development costs low and profitability high,” said Matthew Hostetler, chief development officer, Red Roof.
The company is approaching ten dual-branded properties open across the country, including Texas, Florida and Georgia.
Successful performance
“Red Roof delivered record revenue which is a testament to our resilience and ability to anticipate market trends,” said Limbert. “Our financial position is strong, travelers are back and our owners and operators are exceeding performance expectations.”
Performance highlights:
- Revenue for 2021 was 16% higher than 2019, one of the first brands to show positive revenue growth over 2019.
- Revenue for the Red Roof brand from January through September increased 10% year-over-year, and RevPAR is up 9% for the same period.
- Revenue from the website, mobile app and central reservation system (CRS) is growing faster than other channels.
- Revenue from the website and mobile App is 22% higher than 2021.
- Revenue from CRS is 19% higher than 2021.
- RediRewards enrollment increased 48.2% during summer months of June to September.
New partnerships
In addition to its new partnership with HotelKey, the company also revealed other collaborations at the conference.
- A new digital marketing partnership with Zeta Global: Positions Red Roof to drive growth and demand. Zeta’s data-powered marketing unifies identity, intelligence, and activation across all channels to deliver better experiences for consumers.
- A new partnership with ibex: Utilizes innovative call center technology and resources that increase loyalty and boost revenue with a robust expert talent pool.
- A new Red Roof RediResponse Program: Implements a brand-wide, in-house solution for reputation management. RediResponse provides operational efficiency through timely responses to all major online guest reviews and completed surveys, enhancing their online profile and reputation.
Purpose program
The company also revealed an enhancement of its corporate social responsibility program, building on its history of giving. Purpose With Heart, the overarching ESG program encompasses Heart for the Planet—which refers to Red Roof’s impact on the environment and responsible stewardship of natural resources, Room in Your Heart—its social and societal programs and Lead with Heart—Red Roof’s governance initiatives, referring to transparency, leadership and management.
