HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — With an event theme of “Ignite,” Red Roof held its brand conference in Florida this past week, focusing on new opportunities for growth.
Addressing the attendees, Robert Goad, SVP of revenue strategy, acknowledged that the industry outlook a year ago was “cautious,” with STR’s forecast calling for revenue per available room in economy hotels to decline 0.8 percent in 2026. “We knew there would be challenges,” he said, highlighting new supply, shifting demand and economic uncertainty as factors for concern both then and now.
Despite those headwinds, Goad said that the Red Roof system has outperformed the industry forecast. “After normalizing for unusual post-hurricane demand patterns that impacted several Southeastern markets, portfolio RevPAR increased approximately 1 percent year over year through August,” he told attendees, noting that the company’s RevPAR index reached 100.9 and improved 0.4 percent compared last year.
While acknowledging that the growth may sound small, Goad noted that the numbers represent “millions of additional dollars in market share gained.” And with STR currently forecasting 1.2 percent RevPAR growth for the economy segment in 2027, Goad called the outlook “encouraging.”
Property Improvements
SVP of Operations Tim Lipka—who stepped into his role in January—and Nick Kurek, director of franchise operations, outlined new initiatives for owners and managers to implement at the property level.
One of the biggest changes, Red Roof Lightscape, will require all Red Roof properties to upgrade to commercial-grade LED lighting in the parking lot and pedestrian walkways. The initiative, Kurek said, would address “safety and security” concerns.
Inside, Inn and Plus properties will no longer require in-room coffeemakers within the guestrooms, and will instead serve coffee all day in the lobbies.
The company also reassessed its RediClean quality-assurance program so that it now pairs “detailed brand standards with a clear scoring summary and pass/fail outcome,” Lipka said. “This process ensures every step has a purpose and gets us closer to the level of quality we want to achieve,” Kurek said.
Tech Developments
With artificial intelligence going from niche to normal within hospitality, the company also is stepping up efforts to leverage the technology for its hoteliers.
Senior VP of Commercial Strategy Shanna Wright said that the company was collaborating with Milestone, a provider of AI-native digital experience platforms and search technology, on an “AI-first transformation” of the company’s website and digital ecosystem. The transformation, she said, will “enhance discoverability” across traditional search engines and emerging AI platforms.
“The ultimate goal of this transformation is to capture and engage more guests through our website,” she said, noting that bookings made through the brand website and the app do not carry transaction fees. “We want to encourage as many guests as possible to book through our site, so we need to make it as easy as possible,” she continued. “As we navigate the AI era, it is critical that our site is recommended by these generative AI chatbots, and that we allow guests to continue their ‘conversational searches’ on our own website.”
The company reported 44 percent year-over-year growth in app-generated revenue.
Steve Woodward, VP of innovation, learning and development, said that the team is collaborating with its Red Academy Vendor and creating a chatbot learning assistant called Harmony that will help property-level team members with their training. “When someone needs to remember a process in the moment, they will not have to search through an entire course,” he explained. “They will be able to ask Harmony for help.”
SVP of Technology Sharee Brell said that the company is working with HotelKey on other guest-focused enhancements, including a pantry program that lets guests pay when they purchase items or at the end of their stays.
“We are currently piloting HotelKey’s new Kiosk with Baymont, Natson and NSR groups,” she added. “The kiosk has concierge, face recognition and AI enhancements built in. These features provide guest convenience and the security needed to ensure the guests registered are the guests standing in front of the kiosk.” The program also has upsell and add-on features, she added.
Brell also noted that Red Roof and HotelKey are collaborating on a project that will alert property employees of potentially trafficked individuals.
And in the next few months, Red Roof is set to launch a new brand portal called The Lobby. “The Lobby will be the new launchpad for all franchisees, with brand assets, information and contacts,” Brell said. “This will be a multi-phased launch that includes an AI agent to report hotel statistics for property owners, an integrated helpdesk agent that provides answers to common questions and helps create tickets, and integration with the Red Academy and its new Harmony agent.”