Creating a Hotel Experience, Not Just a Service
For high-end, independent hotel operators, well-presented rooms are just a starting point. Significant investment is also going into experience-enhancing amenities such as characterful restaurants and bars, or well-serviced gyms and spas.
The aim is to make top hotels destinations in themselves and boost footfall beyond overnight guests. So how can hotels achieve this, by creating their own unique story?
THE POPULARITY OF HOMELINESS
A good night’s sleep and comfortable room are no longer the defining characteristics of a great hotel experience. Forward-thinking operators are ditching conformity in favour of distinctive spaces that feature more homely touches.
Lobbies, for example, are no longer anaemic processing areas for checking in and out, but warmer, quirkier, and more welcoming spaces. This home-from-home feel can also be reflected in other parts of the hotel, including restaurants and bars.
VIVA LE DIFFERENCE!
Personalising a hotel sets it apart from its competitors, and different types and styles of room within the same hotel can deliver a refreshingly out-of-the-ordinary experience.
Scheduled hotel refurbishments or new-build extension projects provide the perfect opportunity to do this. But even away from major projects, hoteliers can focus on small interior design changes. For example, photographs and memorabilia that reflect the heritage of the building and local community can produce an individualised and authentic experience.
Collaborating with local retailers and leisure providers also strengthens a hotel’s brand, providing links to culture and community roots.
MAKING FOOD PART OF THE BRAND
Dining and bar facilities are locations where enterprising hoteliers strive for memorable and inspiring designs that will set them apart. Though, of course, it’s not just down to the design. The quality of the food and drink offering, and increasingly its distinctiveness and social-media friendliness, is key to getting people talking about a hotel restaurant.
It’s no wonder that the most successful hotels invest heavily in a head chef that can bring not just their culinary skills, but that vital theatre to the table. It’s conveying the story behind the food – its provenance and quality. Hotel kitchens that grow their own vegetables or forage for their own wild food, for example, have a unique story to tell.
BATHROOMS AS BENCHMARKS
We are in an era where bathrooms say more about a hotel than ever before. Guests increasingly look for an experience they do not routinely enjoy. Jacuzzi baths and waterfall showers can raise hotel bathrooms from mundane to impressive. Moreover, guests increasingly expect hotels to offer some level of health and wellness facilities within the hotel.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Hotels that have extensive grounds or access to lakes and rivers can prosper by making the most of these spaces. Can they be used for outdoor adventure and activities? More importantly, can this be made part of the brand story?
Granted, not all hotels are set within their own sprawling estates or rolling countryside, but even those that aren’t have an opportunity to harness the attractions on their doorstep and make them part of the hotel narrative.
Written by Zoe Hooton, Director at HPA.
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