Insight From the C-Suite: Marina MacDonald, CMO, Red Roof Inn

As part of a new, members-only series, Women Leading Travel & Hospitality is asking industry executives about their professional journeys, mentorship, how they stay up-to-date on the latest technology and trends, how they take care of themselves, and so much more. This week, insight comes from Marina MacDonald, chief marketing officer, Red Roof INN.

How do you define and communicate your long-term vision for both your personal leadership journey and the success of your organization?
I’ve benefited throughout my career from mentors and leaders who have taken an interest in my professional development, which has shaped my personal leadership journey. Giving back and sharing my experience and expertise to elevate those around me has become increasingly important. I communicate this vision through actions: I mentor, serve on industry and association boards, and encourage change in my organization through programs like SHE, inspired by Red RoofSM and Purpose With HeartSM. Fortunately, this is a vision I share with my fellow leaders at Red Roof. Red Roof’s commitment to advancing our people is evident in the numbers: As of 2023, Red Roof has sponsored 12 women to participate in AHLA’s Castell Project, and 41 team members have graduated from the Innovative Leadership Development Program, presented by the Innovative Leadership Institute. We’ve grown our population of 100 percent woman-owned or partially-owned properties to over 35 percent of our system. We’re putting in the work to elevate others because a diverse population of leaders and owners is our vision.

Describe a situation where you encouraged innovation or took a calculated risk in your leadership role. How do you foster a culture that embraces creativity and risk within your team or organization?
Introducing the idea of a women’s program in 2015 and articulating a goal to have 40 percent of our properties owned by women was a risk — not because I didn’t think I would have support from my colleagues, but because no other hospitality brand was doing what I was proposing. Red Roof was the first. But as TS Elliott said, “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” My colleagues and the Red Roof board rallied behind this idea. We went full speed ahead. And what started eight years ago as a whisper, a small but mighty desire for more women of Red Roof, has turned into a roar. We witnessed great success and engagement in the early years of our Forum on Leadership for Women Entrepreneurs. This year, we realized our women and the women of the industry needed more. We looked at what we learned and accomplished and innovated again. We introduced SHE, inspired by Red Roof, a 360-degree program designed to Support, Help, and Elevate women through year-round thought leadership and access to resources on she-leads.com and our annual SHE Leads Forum. I recently heard an interesting statistic on the time it took various technologies to reach 100 million users: the car (60 years); mobile technology (16 years); ChatGPT (only two months!). The speed of change necessitates that we try things that are new and different. We remain flexible, we assess, and we adapt.

Share an example of a successful cross-functional collaboration you led. How do you build and sustain effective relationships with peers and stakeholders across the organization?
At the same time that we introduced SHE, our chief development officer and his team were introducing RIDE with Red RoofSM, Road to Inclusivity and Diversity in Entrepreneurship. RIDE provides franchisees in underserved markets access to capital, educational resources and the connections needed to build a strong network of industry partners. To ensure the effectiveness and longevity of each program, we needed to collectively take a good look at both: we recognized their similarities, defined their differences, and aligned on how the two programs could support each other. We collaborated and agreed on the synergy: SHE, inspired by Red Roof and RIDE with Red Roof are “sister programs”. Where SHE is designed to motivate, RIDE is designed to activate. The two programs have been working together to grow our population of women owners.

What steps do you take to champion diversity and inclusion within your organization, and how do you ensure that your leadership team reflects a broad range of perspectives and backgrounds? How do you measure those efforts?
Diversity starts at the top with Red Roof. Forty-six percent of our senior leadership team are part of a minority group, and 48 percent of Red Roof leaders (director and above) are women. As an organization, creating and maintaining a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging that continually fosters growth and opportunity for all is paramount. This year, we formed a DEI&B committee, and our brand team members participated in DEI&B training at an all-hands meeting. Additionally, I welcomed Seema Jain, founder and CEO of Seva Global, to train my teams on cultural competency. In addition to being the leader and founder of SHE, inspired by Red Roof, I’m the executive sponsor of our Purpose With Heart ESG committee. The committee is driving change in our organization by, among other things, communicating consistently and transparently on our ESG efforts, beginning with our 2023 Purpose With Heart Annual Report.

Are you a C-suite woman executive in travel and hospitality? We’d love to feature you! Reach us at wlt@skift.com.