Red Roof’s new chain has boutique look
Younger travelers often have champagne tastes on a beer budget.
With its new Red Collection concept, Columbus-based Red Roof is creating a boutique hotel chain for those on a craft-beer budget.
The first Red Collection hotel is expected to open in downtown Chicago by the spring. Reservations for the St. Clair Hotel, which had been a traditional Red Roof Inn, will be handled by the Red Roof reservation network, but the property will
have the appearance and vibe of a stand-alone historic hotel.
The St. Clair is undergoing a complete “down to the studs” renovation into the new concept, but photos of what the completed rooms will look like include modern, monochromatic decor and “spa-inspired” bathrooms. Being techfriendly is emphasized by providing plenty of power outlets and network connectivity.
“Millennials and Generation Z value experiences. They like to experience the unique things in a city, and they want more money in their pockets to spend on experiences,” said Marina MacDonald, chief marketing officer of Red Roof.
“Our customers usually aren’t coming to town to stay at the Red Roof Inn,” said Andrew Alexander, president of Red Roof. “They’re coming to do something else. Their reason for being there is related to the city. These hotels will be an instrumental part of that experience. They’ll be unique and hyper-local.”
MacDonald added that younger travelers in particular like a hotel that’s stylish but not pretentious.
“Our research showed that the terms ‘hip’ and ‘trendy’ are out,” MacDonald said.
The St. Clair is owned by Red Roof. The company has a combination of owned and franchised properties.
The company will start offering the Red Collection concept to franchisees in January, MacDonald said, so the company doesn’t yet know where other such hotels will be. But the brand has been positioned for cities where it can compete favorably on price with hotels commanding more than $200 per night.
In Ohio, Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland would be likely candidates for a Red Collection hotel, MacDonald said, but none is in the works.
The appeal of the concept for Red Roof, besides commanding higher room rates — roughly $140 to $150 per night for the St. Clair, for example — is attracting new customers and creating a step-up category for existing customers.
Eric Belfrage, senior vice president of CBRE Hotels in Columbus, said other hotels that traditionally compete on value are creating more upscale boutique “soft brands” to use in urban areas. He mentioned Hotel RL by Red Lion, which has hotels with a local flavor in such places as Brooklyn, New York and Washington, D.C.
“It makes sense,” Belfrage said.
He added, though, that there’s some irony in big hotel chains creating boutique brands.
“Boutique hotels started as the ‘antibrand,’” Belfrage said. “This is like branding the anti-brand.”