Creating the Hotel Brand of the Future
by Gary Bowerman
Space is the final frontier – even for hoteliers. Robert Bigelow, owner of Budget Suites of America, has invested US$180m with the “express purpose of revolutionizing space commerce via the development of affordable, reliable, and robust expandable space habitats”. His company aims to launch a private space station using specially designed inflatable space modules later this decade.
Back on planet Earth, hotel innovation is largely focused on new brands, and sometimes this can feel rather like reaching for the stars. InterContinental is the latest hotelier to announce it is working on brand launches to confront a changing global travel paradigm. Interestingly, its under-wraps new concept for China seeks to satisfy “both owner and customer demand”.
This is interesting because in China – as in many emerging markets – wealthy hotel developers don’t just call the shots, they frequently alter the shot terms. Several chains have had to rip up detailed plans for new hotels and either hire a new design team, upgrade the property at short notice to a higher line brand or, in some cases, create a unique hotel concept for a specific owner.
Some analysts argue that the relative strength of regional hotel markets may render the ‘global hotel’ brand obsolete. As traveler preferences in emerging economies diverge, more hotel sub-brands will be created that meet their requirements. These domestic and regionally focused brands are unlikely to supplant their paterfamilias properties in the Champs-Élysées, Knightsbridge or Times Square, however.
Time will tell, particularly as hotel companies in countries like India and China are similarly working to globalize their reach with city center and airport hotel concepts in overseas destinations that meet the needs of their own outbound travelers. It is intriguing that as the travel industry experiences more consolidation, the hotel sector could witness greater brand diversification.
Certainly, the old divisions between luxury, business, mid-range and economy have blurred beyond recognition. The bridging of the perceived gaps is now targeting the “budget-plus” and “beyond-mid-tier” sectors. But what will these new brands deliver to travelers, beyond swirly logos, non-neutral color schemes, fusion restaurants and a larger plasma TV?
Our universal demand, of course, is free and faster Wifi, for which we may have to trade a smaller room, less on-demand hotel staff, and no bathrobe. But hotel designers are increasingly tasked with improving operating value, not just customer comfort – so ‘what we want’ and ‘what we get’ are different concepts.
Recently, I’ve seen in-room sensor technology that gauges not only when a guest leaves a room – so that air conditioning and lighting can switch to a lower cost mode – but also when the customer is sleeping and may need subtle alterations to room lighting and heating.
Mixed-use office, retail and hotel skytowers are also using intelligent technologies that retain and reuse heat from the sun for cheaper energy, and simultaneously protect rooms from glare during the hottest parts of the day.
Airline-style online and wireless in-hotel check-in are developing concepts, though whether these improve the customer experience – or just reduce hotel costs – is open to question.
In-room Internet phones and VOIP technologies are increasingly being offered – though, again, free and faster Wifi and a laptop would suffice. Hotel limo Wifi and VOIP are impressive concepts that could be extended further.
Smartphone key cards have been trialed, too.
Espresso bars rather than meeting breakout rooms, and virtual meeting software are some of the many conferencing innovations being deployed in competitive marketplaces.
New technology will improve the functionality of our stay, but that has always been an upward curve since the lodging industry itself was created. The next step is ‘thought development’; or how hotel brands and sub-brands engage travelers – from wherever they hail or are headed – with more inclusive technology, more targeted services and, at the same time, improved energy efficiency and operating cost ratios.
On second thoughts, it might be easier to design a hotel in space.
This blog has been commissioned by AmEx.
About Gary Bowerman:
Oxford-born Gary Bowerman has travelled the world in search of a good story. After cutting his teeth in legal and tax publishing in London, Gary moved on to edit international business and travel titles before relocating to China in 2004. Resident in Shanghai, he has recently been a contributor to CNN Traveller, Business Traveler,CNBC Europe Business, New York Times, Travel & Leisure and South China Morning Post. Editor of the Singapore Highlights and Beijing Highlights guides, Gary is also one of the founders of Hong Kong and Shanghai-based media and marketing communications agency Scribes of the Orient.
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