Quality Inn and Bistro 1100 formally open after rebrand

Former Red Roof Inn “changes flags” 

OWEGO — A Red Roof Inn and adjoining restaurant, formerly called the River’s Edge in Owego, have been rebranded and reopened as the Quality Inn Owego and Bistro 1100.

The newly branded hotel and renovated restaurant, located at 1100 State Route 17C, are both owned by Rudra Management Group, a Buffalo–based company that owns more than 50 properties in upstate and Central New York, says Gabrielle Gurney, sales and operations manager at the Owego Treadway Banquets and Conference Center. The Owego Treadway is a conference and events facility connected to the Quality Inn Owego and Bistro 1100 that is also owned by Rudra.

The Quality Inn Owego and Bistro 1100 started operating under their new names on July 1, and held a ribbon-cutting event on July 20 with the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce.

Gurney says the 77-room Quality Inn Owego’s occupancy rate varies by season, but currently averages about 60 percent occupancy. The Quality Inn is currently hiring and employs between 10 and 20 people — a mix of part and full time, says Gurney.

The adjoining Bistro 1100 employs different people, who generally work at both the Treadway and the restaurant. Gurney says about 13 to 20 people work for those facilities, and about five of the employees are solely dedicated to the Bistro 1100.

The Bistro 1100, which offers American food like flatbread pizzas and wings, has 100 seats including outdoor seating with views of the river. She adds that there is room to add more seats in the future if needed.

Gurney says she manages block room contracts, which are for companies or larger groups that need to book multiple rooms. She manages these contracts for the Owego Treadway, the Quality Inn Owego, and two other sister hotels — the Holiday Inn Express and the Hampton Inn and Suites — that Rudra owns that are in the same area, all within less than half a mile from each other. Each are priced differently and serve different purposes, she says.

“The Quality Inn is going to be more of a business travel or economy leisure, whereas the Holiday Inn express is more leisure business, and the Hampton is definitely for a business clientele ... So they have a good mix of what amenities people are looking for,” she tells CNYBJ.

Rudra decided about a year and a half ago that it wanted to “reflag” the Red Roof Inn as a Quality Inn, so it struck a franchise agreement with Quality Inn, Gurney tells CNYBJ. (Note: When a hotel is “reflagged” or “changes flags,” it means it has been rebranded under another chain hotel franchise.) She says she doesn’t how much it cost to change franchises.

Gurney says Rudra believed the Quality Inn was a better fit for the business demands of the area. She adds that there were certain “perks” of changing franchises.

“Where the Red Roof had a complimentary cold breakfast, so it was just pastries and whatnot, the Quality Inn offers a hot continental,” Gurney says. “There’s free Wi-Fi, and it’s part of a bigger network of brands,” and part of the Choice Hotels line of hotels and its rewards program.

Gurney says Rudra also renovated the restaurant when it rebranded from the River’s Edge to the Bistro 1100, but the capacity didn’t change. She didn’t know how much the renovations cost. The restaurant is open for dinner Monday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and serves brunch on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.