Red Roof Inn

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Red Roof Inn is a budget hotel chain in the United States, operating over 325 properties, primarily in the Midwest, Southern, and Eastern United States.^[1]

1 History
2 Future
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

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The Red Roof Inn chain began in Columbus, Ohio. The company was founded by Jim Trueman in 1972. The oldest hotel (Inn # 3) is still operating as a Red Roof Inn, located on East Cork Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was built in 1973 and last renovated in 2004^{[citation needed]}.

At the beginning, all of its properties were newly-built and not rebranded from other chains. After the purchase by Accor, this policy was dropped, and some new Red Roof locations came about by rebranding existing hotels.

Before it was bought by Accor, Red Roof Inns were not franchised and run by the company. After franchising took over in late 1996, some if not most went through name changes, such as being converting to La Quinta Inns & Suites and Fairfield Inn by Marriott. Most of the original locations have an A-frame roof that extends past the length of the long, linear building; a first floor with exterior corridors; and an upper floor or floors with a balcony hiding the corridors, which are also outside but sheltered by the roof.

The original slogan was "Sleep Cheap." T-Shirts were sold on property with this slogan and the public bought them up. In 1987-88 Red Roof Inn's prices were increased due to inflation and the prices of the chain, while still lower than most of its direct competitors like Budgetel (now Baymont), and Days Inn, was too high to be cheap. Thus the slogan was changed to "Hit The Roof."

In the late-1990s, actor Martin Mull starred in a series of television and radio advertisements for Red Roof Inn.

In April 2007, Accor announced the sale of Red Roof Inns to Citigroup Global Special Situations Group and Westbridge Hospitality Fund LP for $1.32 billion.^[2] As part of the sale, some locations will be re-branded as part of Accor's flagship North American brand, Motel 6, which Accor will attempt to focus exclusively on (in the North American market) after the sale is complete. As part of the sale, Red Roof Inn shifted its headquarters from the Dallas, Texas area (where it was located since 1999) back to its original home in Columbus, OH.

[edit] Future

Recently, CEO Joe Wheeling unveiled expansion plans for the brand, leading to a doubling in size over the next ten years. The centerpiece of these expansion plans is the next generation prototype, which will feature a fresh, modern design, flat screen televisions, granite countertops, trendy lighting and bathroom fixtures, iPod plug-in stations, and hardwood floors. Existing Red Roof Inn locations are currently undergoing a $250 million dollar renovation, which once complete, will bring similar modern upgrades to these hotels. ^[3].