COLUMBUS, Ohio—With tourism contributing nine percent to the country’s GDP and welcoming its 18 millionth international visitor as of August 2015, Thailand is undeniably one of the most coveted destinations in the world, considered a universal market with no high or low seasons. So when deciding to meet continuing demand for its brand worldwide, Red Roof Inn joined forces with Thailand-based Paragon Hotels Limited, part of Paragon Partners. Paragon Hotels will break ground for the first property in 2016 and plans to open a series of new-build hotels across Thailand, between 2017-2020, in all major tourist locations.
“Paragon Hotels is a company with deeply embedded relationships in Thailand and a smart and sophisticated research and development team that vetted several hotel brands before choosing Red Roof,” says Andrew Alexander, president, Red Roof. “They knew that the timing was right for Red Roof to fill a gap in the Thai marketplace with hotels at our price point that provide great amenities in safe, clean, quiet rooms. This is a win-win for both companies and the foreign and domestic tourists who travel throughout Thailand.”
Paragon Hotels says their strategy for Red Roof will be to roll out a series of new-build hotels, deploying Red Roofs’ NexGen concept to ensure that exterior and interior features are immediately recognizable and distinguishable from other hotels in the country. This first set of hotels will have standard Red Roof signage, roofing, and room topography.
“We see Red Roof as a global brand that’s expanding rapidly, not just the best U.S. brand, and we knew this was the right time to bring Red Roof’s value and quality to the market that’s not being serviced correctly,” says Rajinder S. Sidhu, Paragon Hotels. “Rolling out multiple international brand-specific hotels at the same time has never been done before in South East Asia, but with Red Roof that’s the right choice and we know we will see a robust return on investment once the brand is established.”
Targeting both leisure and business international and domestic travelers, Paragon Hotels hopes to eventually build Red Roofs hotels across the Asian continent in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and other countries, expanding Red Roof’s presence.
“With the first series of locations strategically selected by Paragon Hotels expected to roll out throughout Thailand, Red Roof will have immediate brand density and exposure across the country,” notes Phil Hugh, chief development officer, Red Roof. “This is one of the most aggressive implementations of Red Roofs we’ve ever attempted and we partnered with Paragon Hotels because we were more than confident that they could undertake this venture.”
