Red Roof Ignites Next Era of Growth: Elevated Guest Experience and Increased Value for Franchise Owners
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Oct. 2, 2026) — Red Roof®, an award-winning leader in the lodging industry, hosted Ignite, the company’s Brand Conference, in Hollywood, Fla., this week, where leaders committed to accelerating their strategy for long-term growth by unveiling a series of initiatives designed to strengthen the guest experience, create greater enhancements across its portfolio and drive value for franchise owners.
“These strategic initiatives are led by a significant evolution of Red Roof PLUS+® and the next generation of RediRewards®,” Red Roof President Zack Gharib told more than 1,000 attendees. RediRewards is Red Roof's loyalty program, which has more than 6 million members. Gharib added, “Together, our investments represent a sharper focus on building a stronger demand for guests to choose Red Roof, to book directly, and to stay within our family of brands, which is of clear benefit to our franchise community.”
Red Roof PLUS+® Moves into Its Next Chapter
Red Roof is creating a more distinctive experience for Red Roof PLUS+, strengthening its position within the midscale lodging segment. Planned enhancements include hot breakfast served in upgraded breakfast areas and greater consistency across the guest room experience, including enhanced bathroom lighting and terry. PLUS+ properties will feature interior-corridor design and incorporate lobby marketplaces and optional fitness facilities and swimming pools based on location.
The strategy is designed to give travelers a more recognizable and elevated PLUS+ experience while creating opportunities for owners to strengthen property performance.
Red Roof Illuminates
Positioning every property in its best light and continuing to enhance the guest experience, Red Roof announced the rollout of Red Roof Lightscape, a brandwide exterior lighting enhancement that requires all Red Roof properties to upgrade to commercial-grade, high-efficiency LED lighting. The upgrade will illuminate the parking lot and pedestrian walkways, providing a brighter and safer arrival for guests. In some cases, there will be architectural specific enhancements.
RediRewards Evolves from Loyalty Program to Stronger Guest Relationship Platform
Red Roof also is enhancing the way the company recognizes and engages with its most loyal guests. The next generation of RediRewards, supported by Red Roof’s HotelKey® technology partnership, is being designed around greater recognition, flexibility and personalization. Enhancements will include loyalty tiers that better recognize Red Roof's most valuable guests, more flexible redemption options, dynamic points promotions and enhanced account security. The RediRewards program will also add additional benefits geared toward business travelers.
The evolution represents an opportunity to turn RediRewards into an even stronger engine for guest engagement, direct booking and long-term brand preference. Together, the Red Roof PLUS+ and RediRewards initiatives connect two critical parts of the travel experience: what guests experience when they arrive and how the brand keeps them connected after they depart.
Extending the Red Roof Footprint
Red Roof also is carrying its growth strategy north. Gharib told conference attendees, “The opening of a Red Roof PLUS+ at Vancouver Airport marks a new beginning of what we see as a broader opportunity for international expansion.” Red Roof has established dedicated development resources to support future growth in the Canadian market.
At the same time, the company continues to expand HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof®, which elevates the extended-stay experience for guests while leveraging its operations-centric prototype to create an ideal franchise lodging business for owners.
The emphasis reflects a deliberate approach to growth: strengthening Red Roof's existing portfolio, which remains focused on four core brands - Red Roof Inn®, Red Roof PLUS+, HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof, and The Red Collection® – while targeting markets and geographies where the company can create meaningful long-term value.
Building the Digital Front Door for the Next Generation of Travel
Red Roof is pairing its physical brand investments with a significant transformation of its digital ecosystem. Through its partnership with Milestone®, the company is developing an AI-native digital platform designed to improve how travelers discover Red Roof across both traditional and AI-powered search, personalize the guest journey, increase direct bookings and strengthen property visibility.
The investment comes as Red Roof is seeing significant momentum across its digital channels. There has been 44 percent year-over-year growth in app-generated revenue.
Artificial intelligence also is being deployed across multiple areas of the business, including marketing optimization and traveler insights, customer-service translation, hotel-team learning and future franchisee support. Additional AI concierge capabilities are also under development.
The common objective is practical: Use technology to make it easier for guests to find, choose and interact with Red Roof while giving hotel owners and teams better tools to improve efficiency and strengthen the guest experience.
Growth With Quality at the Center
Across the initiatives introduced at Ignite, Red Roof reinforced a strategy centered on quality, consistency and performance. There is greater emphasis on renovations and property consistency, expansion into targeted markets, including Canada and the western United States, investment in direct digital relationships with guests, and continued development in the extended-stay segment.
Additionally, Red Roof reaffirmed its ongoing work to help combat human trafficking and support missing-child recovery efforts, including the integration of AMBER Alerts into HotelKey systems and its leadership involvement with the American Hotel & Lodging Association's “No Room for Trafficking” initiative.
Gharib closed his remarks saying, “Red Roof is committed to continuing to strengthen the guest experience and deepening the relationships that bring guests back. As the franchisees’ franchisor, we are giving owners the support they need to compete and grow intentionally and profitably.”
About Red Roof
Red Roof is an award-winning leader in the lodging industry, recognized for creating the innovative Upscale Economy® segment, serving millions of guests each year. Red Roof's portfolio of brands includes Red Roof Inn® and Red Roof PLUS+®, HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof®, The Red Collection®, and Red Roof’s dual-branded properties. Red Roof has over 60,000 rooms in more than 715 properties in the U.S. and internationally in Canada and Japan. For more information, visit redroof.com or download Red Roof's free app for iOS and Android devices. To learn about franchising opportunities, visit redrooffranchising.com.
Red Roof’s Vision: To provide the best experience and value in the lodging industry for our guests, owners, team members, partners, and communities.
Media Contact:
Cori Rice
SAMCOR Communications
crice@samcor.net
