Hip Hotels

Implications - With today’s consumer constantly craving a fully immersive experience, brands have taken this to a literal level by offering nontraditional, underwater activities. Ranging from underwater bars and scuba parties to submerged art exhibits, consumers are being surprised and delighted with all-new experiential offers. This new form of engagement helps brands leave a lasting impression in the hopes for frequent consumer visits.

Homework Question - How can your brand transform a traditional event or activity into a completely new experience? [More]

Implications - Offering greater value in the increasingly competitive hospitality market, hotels are turning to cultural and artistic touches in order to attract the attention of travelers. By pivoting to experiences that businesses like home-shares can't easily replicate, these businesses protect themselves while helping to develop their brands.

Homework Question - What's one thing your brand can do that its competitors cannot replicate? How could you capitalize on that difference? [More]

Implications - As the desire for travel and the appeal of escapism continues to rise, fashion brands react with hotel-themed apparel. Whether creating cozy pieces that encourage staycations or presenting luxe lines to reflect 5-star resorts, this new fashion wave targets individuals and families alike. This latest fashion movement showcases how brands from any industry can gain inspiration from many adjacent markets.

Homework Question - What adjacent industries could your brand incorporate into a new product or service? [More]

Implications - In line with the ever-growing experience economy, brands are consistently looking for ways to engage and immerse their consumers in new ways. That’s where hotels come in. Brands are not simply collaborating with those in the hospitality industry, but rather, they’re creating completely branded overnight experiences of their own. More of an all-encompassing experience than pop-up, these branded hotel experiences allow retailers to not only showcase their products and services, but create environments where consumers can interact, relax and engage with the brand, turning a standard product experience into an interactive social gathering.

Homework Question - How could you create a story or social experience around your products and services? How can you make it more of an event than merely point of purchase? [More]

Implications - Millennials today are known for their preference to spend on experiences rather than products, and this has impacted and contributed to the popularity of travel among this generation. Layering onto this interest in exploring the world is millennials' interest in self-improvement, which has led to the creation of tailored travel experiences focused around providing a path to wellness as well as a chance to explore the world. This shift speaks to the ways in which wellness has the capacity to impact a huge variety of segments, and the ways in which companies can leverage that interest to create something more appealing to today's young adult consumer.

Homework Question - What role does your company play in helping consumers become their best selves? [More]

Implications - As consumers become more comfortable with artificial technology, its influence is becoming more prominent both in the home and beyond. In particular, it's being seen more often in spaces like hotels. Providing not only practical benefits of easily executing tasks, the integration of AI into hotels also gives this sector of the hospitality industry a competitive edge that home-sharing platforms likely can't keep up with to the same degree.

Homework Question - How is your brand preparing to keep up with consumers' increased expectations when it comes to technology? [More]

Implications - Taking a page out of the smart home book, hotels are integrating learning technology to adjust to consumer preferences for everything from check-in to room temperature. This makes for an easier, more customized, and ultimately more comfortable experience. This seamlessness minimizes the adjustment period most guests fall subject to when staying in a new place; the comfort implemented through this technique is both physical, and psychological.

Homework Question - What could you add or tweak about your product or service to provide customers with a more comfortable experience? [More]

Implications - As consumers become accustomed to IoT within modern homes, hospitality brands are looking to stay ahead of the curve by integrating intelligent connectivity throughout their hotel rooms. Through AI and voice-controlled technology, guests can fully control their environments and easily customize room settings to their preferences. This increased in-suite connectivity ensures convenience for travelers while also ensuring consumer engagement for hotels as many guests would rather interact with digital features rather than hotel staff.

Homework Question - How can you adapt to the modern consumer who increasingly prefers to interact with technology rather than a human? [More]

Implications - While the ideal version of extremely personalized hospitality might have each guest paired up with their own personal concierge, many hotels are leveraging mobile technology that is offering something incredibly close. Through apps and mobile phones that are programmed to offer the same conveniences, tips and insider knowledge travelers are used to receiving from the front desk, the hospitality industry can cater to consumers on a much more individual level, wherever they are. This plays into the need for autonomy many travelers seek, providing them with a sense of confidence as they know they'll be receiving 5-star treatment even off hotel premises.

Homework Question - How can you ensure your consumers are still thinking about your brand even when they aren't directly interacting with it? [More]

Implications - To stay ahead of the unprecedented growth seen by the share economy and companies like AirBnB, hospitality brands are finding creative ways to join them rather than beat them. Through partnering with P2P startups to offer new accommodation experiences or creating their own shared hospitality platforms, hospitality megaliths are subverting consumer preconceptions of large corporations. By acting small, bigger brands can adapt faster to emerging market trends and recapture the attention of the previously elusive Millennial demographic.

Homework Question - What smaller brands are on the rise in your industry and how can you collaborate with them instead of competing? [More]