Remote workers and "digital nomads" represented an opportunity to grow hotel demand for Red Roof Inn during the pandemic, Alex Cisneros, the company's senior vice president of revenue generation and analytics, said.
The hotel brand also targeted marketing to guests traveling with pets, as pet ownership soared during the pandemic, he said in an video interview with Hotel News Now at the Hotel Data Conference.
“We’ve been able to capture some of those new customers that can work from anyplace. … I think another segment that has been very interesting for us is seniors who have retired,” he said, adding Red Roof Inn always has depended on a high number of guests who have had to continue traveling, either to complete projects or because their work requires them to be in different, physical locations.
Responsible for leading revenue-generating strategy at more than 670 hotels, Cisneros said the uptick in bleisure travel — combining business and leisure — has required different tactics in different markets.
Orlando, he said, is one market where bleisure trips have surged.
“In [some] markets, we saw that no matter what the rate structure … we’re not going to get those extra nights, and for those we try to focus on elevating the [average daily rate] as much as the competition allows us to do,” he said.
Cisneros said Red Roof Inn will continue to grow its brand but also increase its portfolio of hotels in the extended-stay segment, which has performed exceptionally during the pandemic.
“We have about 65 [extended-stay] hotels. We did not have as many [of those] hotels before COVID, and we are going to add more and more. … Some of the beach destinations and leisure markets are where we feel there is an opportunity,” he said.
Red Roof Inn recently opened hotels in Baltimore, Maryland; Battle Creek, Michigan; Bourbonnais, Illinois; Weedsport, New York; and Erie, Pennsylvania — a mix of secondary and tertiary markets.
The next year will be interesting, Cisneros said, but he and his colleagues are up to the task.
“I am confident that we will continue to drive the growth to our franchisees,” he said.
To hear more of Cisneros’ comments, including challenges attracting staff, watch the video above.