Tag: Ian Burleigh

Briefing: Social needs influence consumer behaviour

Posted on by Guy Lean

A recent poll of American leisure travellers by Choice Hotels found that almost one in 10 respondents’ summer travels were motivated by the opportunity to brag to friends and family on social media. This is great evidence of how social behaviours, influenced by current technology, have affected how people make purchasing decisions. Another finding was that 42% of travellers like to stay in a hotel during the summer because they don’t have to clean the bathroom!

Four experts discuss how new consumer demands have changed hospitality.

Statistics from Google show that mobile continues to have a huge role in the travel experience with 60% of people now searching for destination information on a mobile and two thirds of watch time for top travel videos on YouTube happening on mobile. Consumers also continue to rely on their mobiles once they are on holiday. Google says that there was a 30% increase in smartphone searched from hotel properties in the last year.

Choice Hotels’ poll labels 8% of respondents as Social Travelers – for these people the holiday is all about showing of on social media. But a larger percentage, 26% of respondents are classified as Experience Travelers, who prioritise the experience and activities while travelling.

Choice also found that 57% of American travellers save up all their hotel loyalty points towards that all important Instagramable summer vacation.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Design = Context and Lifestyle

Posted on by Guy Lean

Last month Marriott opened two new AC Hotels, ‘bringing the brand’s European design and style to the UK for the first time.’ Earlier this year the Grand Hyatt Rio De Janeiro opened. Hyatt had employed an internationally acclaimed interior designer in order to ‘set a new standard of luxury’. Meanwhile Starwood is a majority investor of Design Hotels™, a selective membership group for original and extraordinary hotels.

Why is design such a big selling point for these major groups? As our experts discuss in these videos, it can be a vital aspect of brand relevancy:

Marriott’s two new hotels are a 142-room AC Hotel Manchester Salford Quays and The 90-room AC Hotel Birmingham City Centre, situated at The Mailbox shopping area. According to Marriott the AC brand is ‘based on a belief that purposeful design can enrich lives’. Each hotel features a Lounge and a Library. One area is designed to be a lively hub other designed as a quite space, but both intended to offer a place for creativity and socialisation.

Internationally acclaimed interior designer Yabu Pushelberg, designed the accommodation at Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro in Brazil with the local assistance of Brazilian designer firm Anastassiadis Arquitetos. Also, acclaimed Brazilian architect Arthur Casas designed 3 signature restaurants for the property. Hyatt says that, ‘the hotel is meticulously designed to exemplify the Grand Hyatt brand’s signature level of grandeur with an abundance of options for creating spectacular experiences.’

The Design Hotels™ website allows you to search and book a holiday from a specially selected listed properties. It says that more than 400 hotels apply for membership with Design Hotels™ each year, but only about 5 percent of them are approved. Elements that influence this decision are ‘thought-provoking design and architecture; integration into the local scene; a strong identity; cultural and environmental responsibility; and the people behind the property’, among other factors.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Learning to evolve is key to success

Posted on by Guy Lean

In a survey by Gap International, 34% of executives ranked Mind-set/Attitude as the most important attribute for the success of great business leaders.  31% ranked People Skills/Team Building as most important, while only 15% rank Industry Experience this way.

In an industry that is constantly evolving, no one can expect that the same skills will always see them to success. Having an organisation that embraces change is the key to making progress. Leaders need to be open to new ideas and be willing to take the time to learn about new developments.

Our experts discuss growth and evolution in a changing world:

The way leaders deal with change and growth is very important as it can directly affect the attitudes and performance of employees within the organisation. A report by Towers Watson found that communication in an organisation going through change can be 6% worse than in an average company, whilst a high performing company could be 16% above average, making a 24% difference between the two. Company image can fall down by a massive 14% and empowerment can go down by 6%.

The study also found that a preference for change amongst employees can increase their engagement at work. The report found that among employees who prefer change 57% were engaged, while among those who preferred stability, only 19% prefer change.

So a positive attitudes toward change across the board can keep companies moving forward with the changes that are happening around them.

The Gap international study, surveyed 301 senior executives at companies in the United States with revenues of $1 billion or more.

The Towers Watson 2014 Global Workforce Study surveyed more than 32,000 employees across a range of industries in 26 markets around the world.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Design – Demand and revenue

Posted on by Guy Lean

Hotel design is rapidly evolving to keep up with consumer demands and global trends. When it is done well, clever design can really add to the revenue of a hotel.

The hospitality industry spends annually about $3.7 billion on energy. Initiatives like UNWTO’s Tourism and Sustainable development goals are in place to help companies making good choices. A reduction in room size has emerged as another trend that can save hotels money while maximizing space through design.

In this briefing our experts discuss design drivers and profitability:

The pod or ‘capsule’ hotel concept, originated in Japan where space is exceptionally tight. It is being used mostly in airports and cities. Marriot has taken on board the small room concept in its Moxy brand, which has one hotel open so far at Milan Malpensa Airport. Yotel has hotels in New York, London, and Amsterdam. The successful Pod Hotel from BD Hotels has two hotels in New York, and one planned in Washington DC.

Sustainability has become an important aspect of development in all industries. As one of the worlds’ largest industries Travel and Tourism has a huge footprint.  According to the UNWTO, the industry accounts for 5% of greenhouse gas emissions, and a typical hotel uses 218 gallons of water per day per occupied room. As discussed above, improvements in this area will not only greatly benefit society and the environment, but can reduce outgoings for the hotel.

Although this movement is not driven by the consumer as much as other changes in design, such as social areas in hotels and wifi, studies have shown that guest are very much in favour of sustainability programmes. A study from Cornell University found that three quarters of guests participate in green programs when they are offered at the hotels, and 45% of guests in one hotel in New York said they would be willing to pay a higher room rate for hotel sustainability initiatives.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Hotels invest in innovative design

Posted on by Guy Lean

Last month IHG announced plans to open a new Hotel Indigo in The Sustainable City (TSC), a new large scale community development in Dubai. The city is intended to have the highest sustainability standards and the new Hotel Indigo will match this with a building designed to recycle all waste water and use 100% solar power. Also in May an innovative hotel design Snoozebox won the Good Design Award Trophy in the Architectural Design category at the Good Design awards in Sydney.

In this briefing four experts discuss the value of innovative design:

Great design ideas are helping hotel companies modernise, differentiate, increase sustainability, and tap into new markets.

Snoozebox is a self-contained portable hotel which can be set up at events and festivals as an alternative to camping. Each room has an ensuite wet room bed a TV and wi-fi. Each pod room is 7.5 square metres. Snoozebox is providing accommodation at many of the festivals around the UK this year including Glastonbury.
IHG’s Hotel Indigo brand has been around since 2004, it is focused on design with each hotel intended to reflect the area it is in and look like a boutique hotel despite being part of a brand.

CitizenM is another brand hinged on design. Its hotels incorporate bright colours, modern style furniture, ‘luxurious living room style lobbies’ and a 24hour canteen and bar to appeal to modern travellers and distinguish itself from more traditional hotel design.

The Good Design Awards is an annual international event which covers design in all industries. The European hospitality industry also has its own European Hotel Design Awards. Last year the wellness hotel the Lanserhof Tegernsee, Marienstein, Germany won the European Hotel Design of the Year Award at EHDA, and The Edible Hotel by Dexter Moren Associates won Tomorrow’s Hotel for a design with an open plan lobby, an edible wall, and an aquarium.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by yBC for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

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