Brands

Red Roof goes for power, cleanliness and style with new prototype

16 Dec, 2011 By: Stephanie Ricca

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Red Roof Inn debuted its new NextGen interior prototype this week in Miami, Fla., at the Red Roof Inn Miami Airport. Loyal guests of the chain will notice the brand made a major effort to include items top on travelers’ wish lists.

That means more electrical outlets, a cleaner look and feel and flat-screen TVs.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Miami property’s grand re-opening, Red Roof Inn President Andrew Alexander called the new design “a new era for Red Roof.”

The details:
• Guestrooms now have a wood-like floor and area rug-style carpet under the bed. The goal with the new flooring is to enhance cleanliness and a clean smell to the room.

• Outlets abound. “Guests told us they didn’t necessarily want all the outlets at the desk,” Alexander said. “So simply by installing a power strip on the night table, we help guests keep their gadgets close by. There’s nothing worse than plugging your phone in miles away from your bed and having to search for it when the alarm goes off in the morning.”

• New 32-inch or 37-inch Panasonic flat-screet TVs will be in all properties nationwide by the end of 2012.

• Stylish elements: With a raised sink, granite sink countertops, new Serta mattress and bedding packages and new lighting, the brand seeks to “provide a warm and welcoming stay for our guests,” Alexander said. Lobbies now have a warmer feel, with natural accents and pops of the brand’s signature red color throughout.

The new look for the brand caps off several years of uncertainty for the Columbus, Ohio-based brand. In 2007 then-parent company Accor sold Red Roof Inn for $1.3 billion to Citi’s Global Special Situations Group and Westbridge Hospitality Fund. Then in 2009, Red Roof’s owners defaulted on a number of mortgages tied to 127 of its properties. That led the company to begin marketing non-core assets for sale, a plan very much in play now, according to Alexander.

Now with corporate restructuring complete, Alexander said, the company now has “$90 million to improve the brand.”

NextGen renovations are underway at more than 25 corporate-managed Red Roof Inns, and the first round will be complete by March, said John VanDenBerge, SVP of design and construction for Red Roof.

Properties can choose between a lighter overall look in warmer cities, like Miami, or a darker one, and there are several phases of implementation. Properties that recently upgraded FF&E, for example, may not be required to make all the NextGen changes.

VanDenBerge said the average cost per room is $6,000-8,000 for the NextGen renovation.

Columbus-based Glavan Feher Architects designed the prototype, and Red Roof Inn partnered with American Hotel Register Co. for FF&E procurement.

At the 200-room Miami property, GM John De Irish said his guests definitely have noticed a change.

“This new design is ideal for our market,” he said. “So far all our guests have expressed appreciation for this type of product. The feedback is tremendous, and we can really separate ourselves from our competitors.”

The best result? Rate.

“We have started to raise our rates and we haven’t gotten any complaints,” De Irish said.
 

Topic : Red Roof Inn, Design
External Source : Hotel Management