Efficiency Key to Red Roof's NextGen Prototype
Red Roof Inn CEO Joe Wheeling is confident he's got the perfect product for the times.
The new "NextGen" prototype takes advantage of the latest design trends, but also keeps with Red Roof's practicality.
"We've struck the right chord," Wheeling says. "You need to create value for investors or it won't be built and if you don't create value for the customer, there won't be value for investors."
The redesign is modern, functional, simple, authentic, and maybe most importantly, cost effective. Highlights include:
• Oversized king rooms with microwave and mini-refrigerator;
• Large, spacious desks with ergonomic chairs;
• A 32-inch flat-screen TV housed within a cabinet that includes dresser, storage shelf and pullout desk;
• A jack pack, located in the TV cabinet, that allows guests to interface the TV to portable media devices;
• T-Mobile Hotspot Wi-Fi service;
• Sleek wood plank flooring, windows shuttered by Japanese blinds and an opaque glass partition wall that separates the bath and guestroom;
• Red Roof's Love-your-Linens bedding package;
• Vessel sinks in bathrooms complemented by vanity cabinets with granite countertops;
• Large and spacious showers;
• Lobbies featuring glass and metal panel atriums with sliding glass entry doors, natural stone walls and stained concrete flooring.
"We've seen that the economy has forced consumers and businesses to rethink their lodging needs and look for a brand that provides the most value for the money," Wheeling says. "Our detail-oriented redesign gives travelers everything they need and then some. It's the basics kicked up a notch."
An example of that is how Red Roof took advantage of the extra space that comes with LCD TVs. "As an industry, we've been tied into big furniture and big TVs for so long," Wheeling says. "Once you move away from that, then it comes down to what is an efficient, comfortable size. You look at those types of tradeoffs and you can certainly start making some changes. Maybe it's a little smaller room, but with free space and the ability to feel comfortable, it's every bit as big as before. When the customer sees the room there's still that 'Wow!'"
The NextGen redesign also takes the environment into consideration with water-saving showerheads and faucets, fluorescent lighting, environmentally sensitive laundry and cleaning products and every hotel will participate in the EPS Wave and Energy Star programs.
With the efficiency of design, per-key costs for current and prospective franchisees will not increase significantly, according to Wheeling. Red Roof's first NextGen property is under construction in Beaumont, TX, and should open in the first quarter next year, he says.
"I'd love to be making that announcement when the industry is still giving record RevPAR growth and the economy is doing really well," Wheeling says. "That said, you know we think we have the product for the times and where things are headed."
Wheeling says the new prototype has generated a lot of interest in the franchise community and is a key part of Red Roof's push for expansion. With 350 locations, the Columbus, OH-based company has plenty of room for growth.
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