Wherever you look, new hotels are springing up and major renovations are taking place, as the hospitality industry moves out of the construction lull of the recession years. These ongoing modernization projects allow big brands to showcase their latest innovative ideas and lure in customers with new features, from culinary offerings to creative meeting spaces.
It’s hard to predict what hotels will look like in 20 years, but there are already fascinating changes underfoot, and while the travel world is full of outlandish lodging concepts like underwater hotels, treehouses and tiny sleeping pods, Meetings Focus explored the latest practical trends in hotel development that will enhance attendee experiences.
Wellness
While Sin City is not typically synonymous with wellness, Las Vegas often debuts the latest trends and extravagant new hotel concepts.
Designed by real estate company Delos, the new Stay Well rooms at the MGM Grand feature 20 unique design elements that enhance the light, air and water in the room, including purified air, circadian lighting rhythms designed to reduce jet lag, aromatherapy and anti-microbial surface coatings to help prevent the spread of germs.
Delos’ founders Paul Scialla and Morad Fareed exude passion when discussing their projects, which benefit both the environment and guest health.
“Rooms like these are a step toward healthier and more productive convention travel,” Fareed says, explaining how attendee productivity can be directly linked to the rooms they stay in.
“The rooms themselves need to be meaningful,” he elaborates, predicting that similar health-related features will be in all the convention hotels of the future.
Scialla takes a more conservative stance.
“Wellness has definitely grown its market share,” he says.”Time will tell if it ever becomes totally mainstream.”
Delos is working to create products that appeal to all demographics, as they’re aware no one wants to get sick while on the road.
“Something big is happening here,” Scialla says, alluding to broad industry shifts. “There has been year-over-year growth in the demand for wellness construction, products and services.”
Customizable wellness programs have appeared everywhere, from in-room fitness supplies and gear rentals at Westin properties to neighborhood jogging maps and regional menus at Omni hotels.
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts plans to debut a new wellness- and fitness-focused brand called EVEN, opening two properties in New York City in 2015, with 100 more to follow within five years. PageBreak
Design
Distinctive style is another key component of modern hotel design. Some hotels are forging partnerships with companies and designers known for standing out.
For example, the 363-room Barcelona Princess hotel in Spain joined with the Spanish clothing company Desigual, known for its bold colors, upbeat patterns and “La Vida es Chula” motto, which translates to “Life is Cool.”
Princess Hotels is a top-ranked Spanish hotel chain that specializes in urban, stylish properties, with 19 hotels and more than 7,000 guest rooms.
Desigual curated 18 colorful rooms on the hotel’s 23rd and 24th floors, decorated with murals, lamps, whimsical pillows and vinyl wall decals, in addition to creating a laid-back Desigual loft where guests can relax, have a cocktail or host informal meetings. The loft is decorated with patchwork rugs and a huge wall mural.
Another new design-driven venue is The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas. The hotel opened three years ago, but The Chelsea did not debut until this year, which gave executives time to determine what type of space would be most beneficial. The result is an incredibly versatile venue that Vice President of Sales Doug Gennardo describes as “avant garde” and “gritty,” combining chandeliers with a massive video wall.
“Imagine the insertion of a theater into a former factory,” he says. “The space lends the perfect combination of industrial grit and artistic glamour...glimmering glass and the patina of burnished metal, worn timber and glazed ceramics.”
The Cosmopolitan is a member of Marriott’s luxurious Autograph Collection, comprised of highly unique hotels and personalized experiences.
Flexible Spaces
Fluid lobbies have been a focus of lodging renovations for several years now, as hotels try to create open, inviting spaces that encourage guests to linger, work, dine and mingle. Spaces throughout hotels are now being called upon to serve multiple functions. Lobbies double as lounges and meeting areas, while croquet lawns accommodate yoga sessions and host sunset receptions.
The Hilton London Metropole completed a transformation of its lobby area this year, creating a “fluid space that provides a more engaging experience,” according to Avner On, the hotel’s general manager.
The update also added new mezzanine-level meeting spaces, a new bar and an inviting whisky lounge which can be booked for private events. Located near London’s West End, the entire hotel can accommodate conferences of up to 3,000 people.
The Hilton Metropole is the first UK property to incorporate Hilton’s new DNA lobby experience. PageBreak
Unique Personality
With thousands of properties spanning the globe, there is bound to be some similarities between Marriott International hotels, but some properties were born to stand out.
Florida’s South Beach Marriott completed a massive room renovation this month, gutting all 234 guest rooms and completely restyling them.
“It’s a big departure from the previous design,” says General Manager David Cronin. The design channels saucy South Beach style and has been billed as sexy and modern. “It looks nothing like other Marriott properties,” Cronin says.
Gray ceramic tile replaced carpet floors, and there is handmade furniture in guest rooms instead of typical desks and office chairs.
“The bathrooms are the highlight of the remodel,” Cronin says. “We replaced the guest room bathtubs with oversized glass-wall showers, which is definitely the way of the future. There’s not much demand for tubs these days.”
To complete the luxury bathing experience, the hotel stocks what Cronin describes as “phenomenal” bathroom anxieties by Thann, a line of luxury products that has made a name for itself in Thailand by targeting a young, hip audience. This aligns with the property’s desire to target Gen X and Gen Y travelers looking for a distinctive upscale experience.
The Marriott is located in a residential area a few blocks from the bustling nightlife, shopping and dining that draws people to South Beach. Cronin reports that guests love having a quiet place to retreat, while being able to admire the view of downtown from their balcony and not needing to rent a car.
The South Beach Marriott caters to high-end incentive trips and small groups, with a boardroom and 2,000-square-foot ballroom. The new concierge lounge on the 11th floor will also be bookable on weekends.
Two Marriott properties in Europe unveiled the brand’s next generation of meeting space earlier this year, the product of extensive research.
Meeting spaces in Marriott’s Munich and Amsterdam properties were created to have a more residential feel, with wood floors, open kitchens and soft seating.
Laurie Goldstein, director of global brand public relations for Marriott International, notes that the company has also been focused on a new guest room design that will debut in 2014.
Dining
Hilton made headlines earlier this year by ending room service at the Hilton Midtown in New York City, but has since launched its new Herb N’ Kitchen restaurant concept at the same hotel, seeking to fill urban travelers’ desire for convenient meals that are also healthy and locally sourced.
Casual dining has grown into a prominent aspect of the hotel design, and Herb N’ Kitchen caters to meeting attendees and business travelers by providing electric outlets and large communal tables that make great meeting spaces.
Gastronomy is also a central part of the guest experience at the recently renovated Sofitel Paris Arc de Triomphe. Updates to the flagship Paris property sought to strengthen the brand’s pillars of dining, culture and design, with the enhancement of the 64-seat restaurant, the creation of a signature scent, available in a candle, and the creation of chic public spaces marked by clean lines and Parisian flair.
The Sofitel Paris Arc de Triomphe offers four function rooms that can accommodate up to 60 attendees.
