Red Roof has launched the first property in its new Red Collection soft brand: Chicago’s 208-room St. Clair, a former Red Roof Inn that underwent a Cinderella-like transformation from budget to what the company is calling upper midscale.
Officially opening October 1, the 15-story property (which previously had 195 rooms) shut down almost two years ago to undergo a multimillion-dollar renovation, though Andrew Alexander, president of Columbus, Ohio-based Red Roof Inns, wouldn’t specify exactly how many millions.
The property is owned by Westmont Hospitality Group, the Ontario-based company that also owns a majority stake in Red Roof, the company.
The Red Collection premise is built around the idea of giving guests convenient locations without the cost traditionally associated with staying in larger cities.
The St. Clair checks those boxes. The property is within walking distance to both the city’s Magnificent Mile shopping strip and Navy Pier. And ADR for the next year is expected to be in the US$145 range, according to Alexander, though that number can certainly fluctuate based on demand, especially during convention season.
Hitting that affordability price point, in addition to fast Wi-Fi and Red Roof’s traditionally pet-friendly policies, is where the company aims to differentiate Red Collection hotels and make it succeed among both business and leisure travelers.
Franchisee fees
And for franchisees, among soft brands, this would be a budget play in terms of fees.
According to a spokeswoman for the company, the application fee is US$5,000 with an initial franchise fee of US$30,000. After that, royalty fees, marketing and reservation fees and the company’s Redicard loyalty program fees each are 4%.
“We’re certainly conscious that we’re ramping up a brand, which means we need to work with our partners to make it a win-win situation,” said Alexander. “Certainly, the Marriott and Hilton brands have higher fees and so we have a good opportunity to join a robust, existing brand for a lower price point.”
With price savings comes a sacrifice in room size: guest rooms are smaller, with simple neutral and red tones along with notes paying homage to the city via wall art and murals in some rooms. Bathrooms have been remodeled with more modern fixtures, barn doors and white subway tile in the showers and only one room per floor has a bathtub.
Eight upgraded rooms (priced about US$40 above typical rates) also feature two king-sized beds, a minifridge and a microwave.
The hotel will have valet parking and the lobby will be connected to a yet-to-be-named restaurant expected to open before the beginning of convention season in March.
There’s no concrete goal in terms of how many properties the group plans to have in the Red Collection pipeline this year, but at least one hotel is already under development in Springfield, Illinois, the state’s capital, and the company is in discussions for future properties in New York City, Atlanta and Las Vegas.