Red Roof® Introduces Innovative Alexa Skills Technology

Leading Upscale Economy® hotel brand connects with travelers at home through Amazon Alexa

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Feb 15, 2018, 01:31 ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Capitalizing on continued evolution in the consumer-facing technology space, Red Roof is paving the way for hoteliers to connect directly with consumers at home through Amazon's Alexa Skills platform. Setting the industry standard, a dynamic Red Roof skill for Amazon Alexa now gives travelers the power to ask Alexa Red Roof-specific questions to assist in making travel plans, all from the comfort of home. This new innovation allows Red Roof to provide key information to the more than 20 million Alexa users, answering questions to help drive decisions including, "Can I bring my dog?" and "How many locations do you have?" to "Tell me about Red Roof PLUS+®" and "Do you have any deals?"

Red Roof® is paving the way for hoteliers to connect directly with consumers at home through Amazon's Alexa Skills platform. Setting the industry standard, a dynamic Red Roof skill for Amazon Alexa now gives travelers the power to ask Alexa Red Roof-specific questions to assist in making travel plans.

"As consumers continue to rely more heavily on technology in their daily routines at home, we created the Red Roof skill for Amazon Alexa in the spirit of added convenience and ability to deliver important, decision-driving information directly to current and future guests," says Kevin Scholl, Director of Digital Marketing and Partnerships, Red Roof. "Our technology is living and we'll continue to add information to best support users based on consumer demand and aim to provide booking capabilities in the future."

According to recent research, 72 percent of users engage with Alexa as part of their daily routine and nearly half of them speak with their Alexa-enabled device, noting it feels like speaking with a friend. In line with how people love to hear recommendations from friends or third-party advocates, a majority of Alexa users reported that they are open to learning about brands from their devices¹.

"Directly giving consumers information about Red Roof at home is the natural next step in our technological future as an innovative hotel brand," Marina MacDonald, Chief Marketing Officer, Red Roof. "Travel truly meets technology through the new Red Roof skill for Amazon Alexa, allowing us to provide key information to a captivated audience that is already integrating the benefits of Alexa into their everyday lives."

Users can enable the Red Roof skill for Amazon Alexa at no cost on all of their Alexa-enabled devices in the Skills hub of the Amazon Alexa app on their smartphones. Utilizing the power of Alexa Skills is just the latest in Red Roof's recent technological advancements. In 2017, the brand completely redesigned its website to create a sleek, accessible, mobile-first platform to allow travelers to seamlessly book on-the-go from their smartphones. Later this year, Red Roof will roll out an Artificial Intelligence Chatbot and Quickbook feature for the site to make it even easier for guests to quickly lock in a comfortable stay at a great price.

About Red Roof®

Red Roof is a leader in the economy lodging industry with franchised, corporate-managed, and corporate owned properties, serving millions of guests each year. With coast-to-coast locations, Red Roof has over 500 properties in the U.S. Red Roof is also expanding internationally to Brazil, Canada, Thailand and Japan. The primary goal at Red Roof is to provide customers savings without sacrificing comfort so they can Sleep Easy. Spend Less.™ The brand has been investing significantly to renovate and upgrade hotels nationwide with sleek and modern NextGen® redesign elements. The Red Roof NextGen hotels feature updated, stylish and home-like interior and exterior designs that demonstrate the Red Roof dedication to providing customers with an affordable stay in a clean, comfortable and modern room. Next, the company rolled out Red Roof PLUS+®, an enhanced Upscale Economy® offering at a value price. The brand also launched The Red Collection®, a city-center soft brand made up of upscale economy to midscale unique hotels that reside "In the Hearts of Cities You Love." Red Roof offers franchisees Genuine Relationships. Real Results.™. The Red Roof loyalty program, RediCard®, is the richest in the industry rewarding members with free nights with only 7,000 points, advance notice of special offers, and complimentary bottled water each day of their stay. Traveling with your pet? Don't forget that at Red Roof 'you stay happy, pets stay free' as one well-behaved pet is welcome per room, nationwide. For more information or reservations, call 800.RED.ROOF (800.733.7663) or visit www.redroof.com.

¹ https://www.fastcompany.com/40513721/heres-how-people-say-google-home-and-alexa-impact-their-lives

SOURCE Red Roof