Red Roof Inn

Logo in Use from 1973-2004

A Red Roof Inn in Manassas, Virginia

The earliest iteration of the Red Roof Inn was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1973. Its founder was American businessman and automobile racing team owner Jim Trueman.[2] Trueman died in 1986, but the company remained in the hands of the Trueman family for a brief period of time after his death.

In 1994, The Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund purchased Red Roof from the Trueman family. Three years later, in 1997, they began to franchise the company with their first franchised location in Branson, Missouri. In 1999, the company was purchased from the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund by French hospitality management company Accor. At the time of the purchase, the Red Roof Inn had 324 locations and 37,208 rooms.[3] Accor, which owned various hotel brands including Motel 6, purchased the Red Roof Inn for $1.115 billion. As a result of the purchase, Accor became the third largest chain in guestrooms worldwide at the time.[4]

In April 2007, Accor announced the sale of Red Roof Inns to Citigroup Global Special Situations Group and Westbridge Hospitality Fund LP for $1.3 billion.[5] As part of the sale, some locations were converted to Accor's other North American brand, Motel 6. Accor planned to focus their efforts in the North American accommodation market exclusively on the Motel 6 brand after the sale was complete.[6]

After the sale from Accor, the franchising unit was placed into a separate business entity, Red Roof Franchising, LLC.[7]

Corporate Property Management Spin-Off

Since inception, Red Roof Inn has owned and managed properties directly, even after franchising began in 1997. With the purchase of the brand from Accor, individual inns were placed into portfolios purchased by investment groups[8] like Five Mile Capital Partners, LLC., while Red Roof retained management. Through sales of individual inns for various reasons, the managed properties were whittled down to 67 by September, 2020 when the they were removed from under the Red Roof Inn, Inc. umbrella and managed by a newly formed entity named RRI West Management, LLC. Some administrative functions remained in New Albany, Ohio while others moved to El Cajon, California. RRI West became the single largest franchisee of the Red Roof brand.

Red Roof Inn, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Red Roof Inn
The first Red Roof Inn location opened in Columbus, Ohio in 1973, charging guests just $8.50 a night. In 2021, the brand had over 600+ Red Roof Inn locations. While located mainly in the United States, Red Roof Inn also hosts a selection of properties internationally, including locations in Brazil, Japan, and Canada.[14]

Red Roof PLUS+
Red Roof launched its brand extension, Red Roof PLUS+ in early 2014. Red Roof Plus includes a new room type, enhanced LED lighting, and outside signage. Although the Red Roof Plus+ brands may be more expensive than a traditional Red Roof Inn, they offer amenities like additional outlets, improved bedding, and an improved wood-like vinyl floor, rather than carpet.[15]

The Red Collection
In 2018, Red Roof announced the launch of their first soft brand, The Red Collection, a chain of midscale hotels. The flagship location, The St. Clair Hotel - Magnificent Mile, opened in 2018 in Downtown Chicago. The brand quickly expanded to include State House Inn in Springfield, Illinois and Lord & Moris Times Square Hotel in New York City.[16]

HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof
In 2018, Red Roof Inn launched HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof, which is a brand with a focus on accommodating longer-term guests.[17] Formerly Crossland Economy Studios, HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof underwent a phased launch of over 30 properties across more than 20 markets with nearly 4,000 rooms. The brand also announced a pipeline of more than a dozen properties scheduled to open in 2019.

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