It’s National Tourism Week - May 1st through May 7th!

Did you know that every year, the first week of May, we celebrate National Tourism Week? National Tourism Week is an annual tradition for the U.S. travel community. It’s a time when travel and tourism professionals across the country unite to celebrate the value travel holds for our economy, businesses, communities and personal well-being. President Ronald Regan signed the Proclamation in 1983 establishing the salute to travel in America.

According to the US Travel Association, prior to the pandemic, the U.S. travel industry experienced 10 straight years of growth due to the strength of the domestic leisure travel, domestic business travel and international inbound travel segments. Travel was a significant economic driver in every region of the country, representing 1 in 10 jobs and generating a travel trade surplus.

What a great time to thank all of our guests for traveling and staying with us!

This is also a great time to:

Reconnect with your local Chamber of Commerce and/or Convention and Visitors Bureau.

If you’re already a member of one or both organizations, when was the last time you personally contacted them? Being a member is more than being listed on their website. Many of these have opportunities to network, learn, or market your property. If you would like to join, be sure to check with your RVPO about pricing.

Join a Chamber of Commerce and/or Convention and Visitors Bureau.

If you aren’t already a member, now is a great time to look into a membership. Be sure to check with your RVPO about the cost of joining. These organizations have lost some members due to the financial crunch of the pandemic and shuttered businesses and they may have some great pricing available. Do some research and find the best fit for your inn. If you’re in a smaller city, you might benefit from a regional or county Chamber instead of one with a handful of small business members.

Visit Demand Generators

Even if you pick one this week, we encourage you to go say hello and drop off business cards and rack cards if you have them. Thank them for their partnership. Ask about upcoming events. Join their mailing list so you know what sort of events might be happening there. If you make your presence known regularly, they might recommend your hotel over the ones who didn’t bother to reach out.

Revenue Management Update

As the summer travel season is quickly approaching, we would like to thank everyone for supporting their Revenue Mangers. With the additional support we are receiving from each of you, the aggregated RevPAR for RRI West is outperforming the Comp Set and the gap has widened over the last month. The Comp set has outperformed us in RevPAR Index Growth year to date, but we have started closing that gap. When we close that gap we will be taking RevPAR from our comp sets. As we move into our summer season, we need to work hard to outgrow the Comp Set’s RevPAR Index. As we all prepare for the season, I would like to share a few important items with you:

• AARP Transient rate plan is a required Brand Standard. The AARP agreement requires a 10% discount and a 5% commission on all AARP Reservations.

  • Please DO NOT use AARP as a fade rate unless the guest asks for AARP, and you verify their AARP Membership

  • Should they not have a valid AARP Membership please use the NOW/SRS Code

    • Work with your revenue manager to set up the correct strategy

• Effective May 15 all Red Hot Deals must require at least a 2 night minimum length of stay

• Advanced Purchase rates can now be loaded with seasonal requirements

• RevPAR is the key metric that should be focused on increasing. Please work with your revenue manager to ensure you have the optimal mix of ADR and Occupancy to maximize RevPAR

• Utilize OTA Insights to quickly review your price position and follow up with your revenue manager if you have questions about pricing

  • Please use Live Refreshes if you made changes in your strategy to see the impact in the comp set and contact your revenue manager to let them know what was changed

• Please utilize additional rate shopping methods such as

  • Google 2-2-2

  • Rev+ in Expedia Partner Central

  • Please send Parity Issue to onlineconnectivity@redroof.com

• Utilize your HOT/BASE/DY1/DY2 Tiers to manage closes rather than hard closing through CRS

• Consider downloading the following apps

  • Redi Stay Mobile

    • https://apps.apple.com/us/app/redistaymobile/id839011964

    • https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.redistay.redistaymobile&hl=en_US&gl=US

  • EPC-Expedia Mobile Extranet

    • https://apps.apple.com/us/app/expedia-group-partner-central/id987675995

    • https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.expediapartnercentral&hl=en_US&gl=US

  • YCS-Agoda Priceline Mobile Extranet

    • https://apps.apple.com/us/app/agoda-ycs-for-hotels-only/id1334645772

    • https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.agoda.companionapp&hl=en_US&gl=US

  • Red Roof Mobile App

    • https://apps.apple.com/us/app/red-roof/id1507855216

    • https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.redroof.mobile&hl=en_US&gl=US

  • Having access to these apps will help you monitor rates and maximize RevPAR when you are away from the property

Again we thank you for your participation in the REDvenue Optimization Program. Please work with your revenue manger to continue to maximize your revenue strategies.

Procurement Update

Office Depot changed their name and is now ODP Business Solutions. There’s nothing you need to do other just know that incoming emails will say ODP instead of Office Depot.

Room Supplies – Both HD Supply and Guest Supply are approved Avendra suppliers. If you order through HD Supply and see that an item is out of stock with an eta out a few weeks, HD Supply will pull your items from another Distribution Center to get your items to you sooner. You can call the dedicated HD Supply Avendra Line at 833-AVENDRA for assistance too. AVM is an approved vendor, but AVM is not associated with Avendra. You are set up for billing, so you can order from AVM if HD Supply and Guest Supply items are out of stock. Be sure to reference the Supplier List for GMs that is update regularly, with a current update in this issue of the West Gazette.

PTACs and ACs – Are you ready for summer? A best practice is to verify each cooling unit is in working order and filters are cleaned at least weekly. We expect the delivery lead times to increase so please plan accordingly.

Receiving Orders – Every order must be inspected upon delivery before signing a delivery ticket. Any visible damage to the box or contents should be noted.

Damaged or wrong item received should be reported to the vendor immediately by emailing the following (please copy your RFPM and Jon Baaske)

• Picture of Unit showing the damage

• Picture of Unit showing the serial number

• Picture of Box showing any damage

• Picture of Box showing printed serial number

Once the vendor receives this information (within 5 days of delivery), a replacement will be processed. The most ordered items being received with damage are Lamp shades, Mirrors, TVs, Microfridge units, PTACs, ACs, toilets

To avoid damage to TV screens during unpacking, the graphic below should be reviewed by all personnel responsible for unpacking TVs. See Full Memo Below.

Receiving Orders.pdf

Download PDF • 174KB

Vendor List for GMs.xlsx

Download XLSX • 35KB