Archive for December, 2007

Hotels dial up the guest experience

Someone once said that we do exactly what we want to do or have to do.  Nothing more and nothing less.  So I really don’t have a very good excuse for such a prolonged absence on the Fish-On blog.  yes it’s been busy and yes there’s the holiday thing, but in reality, I guess I had just not been moved to post.  But that blog blandness has subsided and I thought I’d throw out several items in no particular order that have intrigued me from world of brand building and consumer experiences.

As we enter into a heavy travel season with the holidays how about three examples from the lodging industry:

The Travelodge chain is offering couples called Joseph and Mary in Britain, Ireland and Spain free accommodation this Christmas on proof of marriage and name.

The hotel chain said husbands and wives matching their criteria would get a night’s stay on the house, but with more home comforts than the humble stable of the Christian Nativity story.  Kind of cute and creative. 

As for another example of a hotel taking the safe lodging experience literally, here is a link to Boston’s newest luxury hotel that is a refurbished old historic jail.

After a five-year, $150 million renovation, the old Charles Street jail is now a luxury hotel for guests who can afford to pay anywhere from $319 a night for the lowest-priced room to $5,500 for the presidential suite. The hotel, at the foot of Boston’s stately Beacon Hill neighborhood, opened in September.

Architects took pains to preserve many features of the 156-year-old stone building and its history.

The old sally port, where guards once brought prisoners from paddy wagons to their cells, is being converted into the entrance to a new restaurant, Scampo, which is Italian for “escape.”

In another restaurant, named Clink, diners can look through original bars from cell doors and windows as they order smoked lobster bisque or citrus poached prawns from waiters and waitresses wearing shirts with prison numbers. The hotel bar, Alibi, is built in the jail’s former drunk tank.

It’s apparentthat the hotel industry has exhausted its competitive advantages with cushy beds and pillows, office amenities for the business travelers, and free breakfasts and hors d’oeuvres - the next new frontier as Pine and Gilmore would say - is the experience.  And you don’t have to refurbish an old historic dwelling.  How about the Le Meridian chain

Le Meridien would like to be viewed as a haven for hipsters and other creative types — perhaps a European version of the W Hotels chain. Both are part of the Starwood Hotel chain , which also includes brands like Sheraton, Westin, and the W.

Le Meridien has hired a French contemporary art expert, Jérôme Sans, for a newly created position as cultural curator. His job will be to pull together artists, photographers, filmmakers and chefs who will work with Le Meridien and help imbue it with some concrete brand attributes.

In the future, Le Meridien would like to be viewed as a haven for hipsters and other creative types — perhaps a European version of the W Hotels chain. Both are part of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, which also includes brands like Sheraton and Westin.

Le Meridien has hired a French contemporary art expert, Jérôme Sans, for a newly created position as cultural curator. His job will be to pull together artists, photographers, filmmakers and chefs who will work with Le Meridien and help imbue it with some concrete brand attributes.

Just look at the little things like key cards.  No element has been overlooked when it comes to applying innovative and artistic design.  Design that is aimed to stimulate our senses and tickle our fancy.

So as we travel over the river and through the woods this holiday season, take a look at the hotel industry and how it’s trying to be more than just a “home away from home” for its guests.