The hospitality industry has been greatly affected by the economic downturn but who hasn't right? We just are not traveling as often and when the opportunities are feasible for a get away, we expect to be pampered. So how can the industry keep the consumer’s satisfied?
“Design is never static,” said the iconic Michael Bedner, CEO of HBA/Hirsch Bedner Associates. “All things morph in 40 to 50 year periods. We are always working eight years ahead of what goes into the market to stay ahead.” The travel consumer is in a constant state of change but one bad travel experience will ruin the possibility for a return visit. That is not good for any business.
Glenn Haussman reported on a conference held in California last week for the BITAC Luxury, “The travel consumer is increasingly finicky with inherently ever changing tastes and desires, it’s as if once their needs are met they immediately change what they’re looking for. This phenomenon has been keenly felt in the hospitality industry as America’s consumer culture shifted to a more experiential culture in the wake of the Great Recession.” This conference was a focused “idea exchange” where buyers and suppliers can work through solutions together to yield both sides more profitable results. It sounds like a successful charette that had one strong message – that tighter budgets are making designers more creative and inspired. “For us it is always about thinking about the trends to see what is coming next. It is all about looking everywhere for emerging trends,” said Les Faulk, Design Director - Technical Services with InterContinental Hotels Group.
Matt Mars, Principal in the design firm Flick Mars, which is working on renovations for projects such as The Windsor Court in New Orleans and The Enchantment Resort in Sedona, said that’s the type of challenge that they crave. “For us it is all about figuring out how to bring the experience and getting guests to talk about it. The upside of tighter budgets is that it makes you more creative. The key for us is working through how to hit the expectation level with the limited money you have to work with. So we are spending time finding new ways to do old tricks, which can be very invigorating creatively,” said Mars.
As for what the attendees were most concerned about with their travel experience, the results may surprise you: only one percent said they can ‘spend what they want.’ An overwhelming 62 percent said they are ‘stretching budgets but same goals achieved,’ while 27 percent said they are “spending less for highly targeted renovations.” Just 10 percent said they are “failing short of the ideal.” And what are they demanding in return for their investment? 63 percent said it was ‘heightened personalization of the experience.’ In all, 17 percent said they thought that next elements was ‘larger rooms/bathroom’ 11 percent said ‘Future Proof Technology,’ and nine percent said ‘Having a signature amenity others don’t.’
Bedner believes it’s the overall environment that makes the difference. “People want better service no matter what the hotel looks like. The old hospitality adage in hospitality is ‘Service, service, service.’
Perhaps the most relevant point was brought home by Roy Kim, Senior Vice President Design with Extell Development, he “agrees with the above trends but cautioned that to really achieve the goal of synergy between design and guest experience it’s important to keep the number of design decision makers to a minimum”. “What you have to do is not be paralyzed by fear. We all face instances of design by committee. There is so much knowledge that can go into a project, but that can lead to indecision. You have to have a sense of conviction and not design by committee,” said Kim.
References:
http://www.speakmancompany.com/pages/hotel_partners
http://go.infor.com/infor-hms/?requestedContent=http%3A%2F%2Fgo.infor.com%2Fdocuments%2Fbrochure%2Fsoftbrands-hms.pdf&gated=yes&cid=AMER-NA-US-HSP-0911-HOTELINTERKEYWORD-WETA1
http://www.terranea.com
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