Randy and his late wife, Carolyn, founded STR in 1985 as Smith Travel Research. Originally a U.S. hotel census company, STR, which is based in Hendersonville, Tennessee, has grown to employ 350 people in 15 countries and to provide data benchmarking, analytics, and marketplace insights for global hospitality sectors. STR’s hotel industry data sample comprises 64,000 hotels and 8.7 million rooms in 180 countries.
Randy brought analytics to the hotel industry, making market and competitor analysis and performance benchmarking possible. He changed the game and set the standard for data intelligence and global benchmarking, allowing hotels, owners, and operators to compete strategically, plan for the future, and understand their customers.
In October 2019, Randy sold STR and is currently retired.