NASHVILLE, Tennessee — As hotel guests pay more in room rates, Red Roof executives are focused on resetting expectations around quality and value.
Speaking with Hotel News Now during a video interview at the 2023 Hotel Data Conference, Red Roof Senior Vice President of Revenue Generation Alex Cisneros said the New Albany, Ohio-based hotel company is celebrating its 50-year anniversary and leveraging that milestone to garner demand.
Cisneros said it's been an interesting summer, with some hotel markets across the U.S. doing exceptionally well while others are slowing down.
Offering promotions that coincide with its 50-year anniversary is one way Red Roof is combating the slower demand period.
"We are finding those opportunities and trying to leverage promotional capabilities, reducing pricing when we need to," he said.
Markets that are slowing down include Florida, he said. He added that's not unique, however.
"Last year was very strong, and we took advantage of that. But this year, we are being more strategic. We see that Orlando has had some international travel continue, so we've been focusing on some of that. In other parts of Florida, we are finding ways of incentivizing consumers to come," Cisneros added.
Red Roof is also attracting demand from Mexico and Canada. The company recently implemented a Spanish call center.
The Spanish call center "is ideal for us because we have many consumers that either they migrated from other countries and they speak Spanish. Before, we didn't have the ability to service them well. Now, they can call and we will speak to them in Spanish. We are already seeing good results," he added.
In efforts to drive longer stays, Cisneros said Red Roof is also working with its franchisees to improve guest experiences on-property,
This includes leveraging technology to streamline the in-room experience, such as enhancing connectivity between personal devices and in-room entertainment.
"The goal is really to create an experience that matches the price that they're paying, and that's what we've been focusing on," he added.
For more insights from Alex Cisneros, watch the video at the top of this article.