Red Roof’s 2025 Vision: Innovation, Inclusion & Growth
RED ROOF IS focusing on strategic investments in people and technology to advance the brand amid evolving challenges, said Zack Gharib, Red Roof’s president. Gharib also spoke about the company’s new prototype, the power of the extended stay segment and human trafficking.
Regarding its diversity and inclusion efforts, the company focuses on its long-standing initiatives including SHE, inspired by Red Roof and Road to Inclusion, Diversity and Equality. SHE and RIDE recently helped Red Roof prioritize women and underrepresented communities with more than 30 new projects.
“When I started at Red Roof, these initiatives were already in place,” Gharib said during an interview at AAHOA’s 2025 Convention and Trade Show. “We’re very proud of adding 30 women owners and we hope to add many more. Red Roof’s internal values, including its “HABITs” framework—where the ‘B’ stands for Belonging—reflect the company’s commitment to making all stakeholders feel welcome, from team members to franchisees.”
Gharib also said Red Roof sponsors and participates in AHLA’s Forward, which promotes women in hospitality.
Tech drive
Red Roof President Zack Gharib, far right, participates in a panel discussion at AAHOA’s 2025 Convention and Trade Show.
The company is working with Sojern to provide a focused guest experience through data-driven insights. Additionally, it signed a new partnership with HotelIQ to implement an AI-powered revenue management system.
“Phase one was integrating guest analytics—knowing what they want, how they feel and how we can improve,” Gharib said. “Future phases include real-time guest messaging and concierge tools integrated into the property management system.”
The HotelIQ project also is important, he said.
“It’s going to automate pricing decisions, analyze demand trends and offer strategic insights. We expect a healthy lift in revenue from this,” Gharib said.
Also on the anvil is the launch of Red Roof’s new mobile app, which will offer faster booking, digital key functionality and messaging options. While not all features will be mandatory, franchisees will have the option to adopt them.
Gharib said the app is undergoing final testing and is expected to roll out soon.
Branding and more
Another Red Roof focus is clarifying brand segmentation as expansion remains a core goal, particularly on the West Coast.
“We need to create a clear separation between Red Roof Inn and Red Roof Plus+ so guests and national accounts can better understand the value proposition and pricing,” Gharib said. “We had the best first quarter in years. Demand is strong and we’re looking to capitalize. I’ll personally be spending more time out West with our leadership team to grow our footprint.”
The company is also in the middle of a series of regional meetings with franchisees across the country, including stops in Columbus, Dallas, Atlanta, New Jersey and Los Angeles. Gharib, however, said these meetings are not just presentations—they are hands-on workshops focused on business performance, feedback and readiness for the summer season.
Red Roof’s prototype, announced in October, has generated considerable interest from developers.
“People like the cost and design,” he said. “We did a full cost study, even benchmarking against a shell built by someone else for Hometown Studios in Tampa. Red Roof prototype may be even more cost-effective due to the absence of kitchens. However, current economic conditions—particularly high interest rates and limited access to capital—have delayed construction starts.”
Despite those headwinds, Gharib remains cautiously optimistic.
“We always have to be optimistic, but sometimes reality comes at you,” he said. “We’re focused on supporting franchisees with lending access and incentives for women, veterans and minority owners.”
He further said Red Roof is exploring lending programs to stimulate development activity. It is working with digital financing platform Bridge to improve capital access for hotel owners and developers, enabling them to submit loan requests in about 10 minutes and tap into Bridge’s network of more than 150 lenders.
The extended-stay segment continues to be a bright spot, with lenders showing more interest due to its strong cash flow.
“Extended stay is hot,” Gharib said. “We’ll likely see more lending activity there than in traditional segments.”
On tariffs and supply chain concerns, Gharib acknowledged the uncertainty but said the impact has been limited so far.
“We’ve seen a slight dip in demand in parts of the Northeast, but overall, not a major impact yet,” he said. Red Roof’s procurement team is proactively diversifying its vendor base to protect franchisee costs. “We’re building a playbook, just like we did during COVID. The industry is resilient and we’ll be ready.”
The company is also expanding its efforts to combat human trafficking. The company mandates human trafficking training for all franchisees. It also partners with organizations like AHLA’s No Room for Trafficking and AAHOA to promote awareness and prevention.
“This is a heinous crime and we condemn it at all levels,” Gharib said.
