Red Roof Inn
Encyclopedia
Red Roof Inn is an economy hotel chain in the United States
. Red Roof Inn properties are often distinguished by the large dark-red shingle roof that gives them their name. There are over 340 Red Roof Inns, primarily in the Midwest, Southern, and Eastern United States. Standard amenities include: bedding, cable television, clock radios, coffee and cappuccino centers located in the lobby, and free unlimited local calling. Certain locations may provide a continental breakfast and swimming pool. All-Inclusive King rooms provide free high-speed wireless internet access, and unlimited free local and long-distance calling. Red Roof Inn is a pet-friendly hotel chain.
. The company was founded by Jim Trueman
in 1972 with the intention to provide guests with a clean, comfortable room at an affordable price. The oldest hotel (Inn #3) is still operating as a Red Roof Inn, located on East Cork Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan
. It was built in 1973 and last renovated in 2004.
The original slogan was "Sleep Cheap." T-shirts were sold on property with this slogan, and the public bought them up. With the increase of prices due to inflation in 1987 and 1988, the prices of the chain, while still lower than most of its direct competitors like Budgetel (now Baymont) and Days Inn, were too high to be cheap. Thus, the slogan was changed to "Hit The Roof."
In the late 1990s, actor Martin Mull
starred in a series of television
and radio
advertisements for Red Roof Inn.
Accor
acquired Red Roof Inns in 1999 for $1.115 billion, adding 324 properties and 37,208 rooms.
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. As part of the sale, some locations will be re-branded as part of Accor's flagship North American brand, Motel 6
, which Accor will focus exclusively on the North American market after the sale is complete.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Red Roof Inn properties are often distinguished by the large dark-red shingle roof that gives them their name. There are over 340 Red Roof Inns, primarily in the Midwest, Southern, and Eastern United States. Standard amenities include: bedding, cable television, clock radios, coffee and cappuccino centers located in the lobby, and free unlimited local calling. Certain locations may provide a continental breakfast and swimming pool. All-Inclusive King rooms provide free high-speed wireless internet access, and unlimited free local and long-distance calling. Red Roof Inn is a pet-friendly hotel chain.
History
The Red Roof Inn chain began in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. The company was founded by Jim Trueman
Jim Trueman
James R. Trueman was an American businessperson and automobile racing team owner. His most successful business ventures were Red Roof Inn motels and the Truesports racing team. Bobby Rahal won the 1986 Indianapolis 500 for the team...
in 1972 with the intention to provide guests with a clean, comfortable room at an affordable price. The oldest hotel (Inn #3) is still operating as a Red Roof Inn, located on East Cork Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
. It was built in 1973 and last renovated in 2004.
The original slogan was "Sleep Cheap." T-shirts were sold on property with this slogan, and the public bought them up. With the increase of prices due to inflation in 1987 and 1988, the prices of the chain, while still lower than most of its direct competitors like Budgetel (now Baymont) and Days Inn, were too high to be cheap. Thus, the slogan was changed to "Hit The Roof."
In the late 1990s, actor Martin Mull
Martin Mull
Martin Mull is an American actor who has starred in his own television sitcom and acted in prominent films. He is also a comedian, painter, and recording artist...
starred in a series of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
advertisements for Red Roof Inn.
Accor
Accor
Accor is Europe's leading hotel group , part of the CAC 40 index , and operates in over 90 countries. Headquartered in Courcouronnes, Essonne, France, near Évry, France, the group owns, operates and franchises 4,229 hotels ranging from economy to luxury on five continents .Previously, the group...
acquired Red Roof Inns in 1999 for $1.115 billion, adding 324 properties and 37,208 rooms.
In April 2007, Accor announced the sale of Red Roof Inns to Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
Global Special Situations Group and Westbridge Hospitality Fund LP for $1.3 billion. As part of the sale, some locations will be re-branded as part of Accor's flagship North American brand, Motel 6
Motel 6
Motel 6 is a major chain of budget motels with more than 1,000 locations in the United States and Canada, and is the largest owned and operated hotel chain in North America. It is owned and operated by Accor Hotels.-History:...
, which Accor will focus exclusively on the North American market after the sale is complete.