by Phil Hugh
Chief Development Officer
Red Roof
Franchisees and franchise relationships are an incredible driver of success and growth for hotel brands. Hotel companies that embrace and nurture their franchisees with a mix of revenue-mindful services, touchpoints, and engagement will be especially rewarded.
Hotels that operate with a franchise model must work closely with current franchisees to drive revenue and limit the number of properties their operational team serves per franchise owner to ensure personalized, specific-to-property results. We applaud and strongly endorse Franchise Advisory Councils or similar groups. They facilitate open communication and collaboration and are vital in promoting inclusion, communication, systems for success, and recommendations for marketing support. Through these open lines of communication, brand decisions are made with the success of each property in mind.
GROWING DEEPER RELATIONSHIPS
The Red Roof ® Forum on Leadership for Women Entrepreneurs is one example of how we sought to grow deeper relationships with franchisees. Suggested by our franchise partners, the forum was developed to help women hospitality professionals tackle, discuss, and find solutions to business, workplace, and work-life balance as well as equip them with the fundamentals in driving top-line revenue, mentoring, and growing employees.
Through panels and a speaker series, the forum shares tools to help women entrepreneurs manage and grow their hotel business more effectively and to rise in the ranks. Specialists also counsel participants on how to grow their business with acquisitions and investments and provide guidance on the marketplace challenges of increased competition, the growth of third-party booking channels, and the mounting expectations of guests. The forum serves as a platform for women to learn, grow, and evolve.
RESPONDING TO THE MARKET
To retain franchise engagement and interest, hotel brands must also offer new product opportunities for current and potential franchise owners. At Red Roof, we’ve moved into the extended-stay market, a sector that has grown immensely in the past few years. Extended-stay properties currently make up more than a quarter of all hotel development projects in the U.S. pipeline, according to Lodging Econometrics. We have entered this market with our new sub-brand, HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof. We’ve also introduced The Red Collection®, unique city-center hotels with a focus on locations in major cities, state capitals, and resort destinations.
HAPPY FRANCHISEES MAKE HAPPY FRANCHISORS
Nurturing strong franchise relationships has led to a happy and satisfied system of franchisees. Recently, the vast majority of Red Roof franchisees gave our key top-line drivers – communications, driving business through the brand, well-managed brand quality, service quality, services for the money, and overall performance – a franchise satisfaction rating of 86 percent.
At Red Roof, we’ve built our franchise business around the motto, “Genuine Relationships. Real Results.®” Aside from the strength of the brand, the strength and depth of the relationship Red Roof has with franchisees helps drive profitable growth. It’s truly genuine relationships that foster the collaboration for winning in the marketplace.
AAHOA Members/franchise owners make up a considerable percentage of our owners and investors; working with AAHOA has been integral to our growth and is another proof point of how strong and deep relationships drive continued success. But we also understand that we have a lot left to do. If Red Roof’s story were a novel, we are at the beginning. We’re depending on our franchisees and franchise relationships to help us complete the remainder of our story.
