Luxury Hotelier - September 2007 - (Page 30)

30| Insight Ypartnership An individual stamp on hospitality Delayed check-out and delivery of five-star service top affluent travelers’ lists when booking a hotel es, the rich are different when it comes to the services and amenities they seek in lodging, as revealed in Ypartnership’s “Portrait Of Affluent Travelers.” This nationally representative survey of the top 7 percent of United States households defined by annual income provides a look at the lifestyles and preferences of this highly desirable audience. The results are intuitive and surprising. When it comes to hotel services, affluent leisure travelers place greatest value on delayed check-out at no extra cost. While this benefit might create operational PETER C. challenges for luxury YESAWICH properties, it nonetheless is highly desirable. The data Peter Yesawich is also suggest that the delivery chairman and chief executive officer of five-star service and a of Ypartnership, concierge staff can clearly an advertising and differentiate a luxury property public relations company based in from its competitors. More Orlando, Florida. than eight in 10 affluent Contact him at leisure travelers find these peter.yesawich@ ypartnership.com. attributes appealing. Other relatively simple services, such as the delivery of one’s preferred newspaper to the guestroom each morning, also are very desirable. More than six in 10 affluent leisure travelers want a property to maintain guest records on their room preferences, special requests, etc. This reinforces the notion that the personalization of services represents a powerful way in which to Y differentiate among luxury providers. About six in 10 affluent leisure travelers seek 24-hour roomservice and nightly turn-down service, followed closely by a concierge or VIP floor. More than two in 10 report access to limo and private car services and in-room massage services to be of interest. There is only nominal interest in the services of a personal butler. Basic services also play an important role in marketing luxury lodging to affluent leisure travelers. Chief among them is security. Given today’s uncertain political and social environment, this attribute understandably is rated very highly. The concepts of recognition and reward are not lost on affluent travelers. They express substantial interest in both hotel frequent-stay points and airline frequent-flyer mileage. While the appeal of frequent-stay points remains unchanged since 2004, a significantly lower proportion of affluent leisure travelers consider frequent-flyer miles appealing today (perhaps because of the difficulty they have in redeeming them). About four in 10 affluent leisure travelers find the inclusion of gratuities with the room rate appealing. Contrary to current practices in much of the luxury lodging industry, affluent consumers do not support the practice of adding a daily service charge to the room rate. Our qualitative work on this issue also suggests that guests find these charges annoying, particularly if they are not disclosed in advance! With respect to desirable luxury hotel amenities, it is clear that affluent consumers place a high value on access to a selection of fine-dining restaurants. Wireless Internet access from hotel/ resort public areas is next in the hierarchy of appealing amenities. Six in 10 affluent leisure travelers find this attribute desirable today, which is up significantly from 2004. More than half also want a workout room with the latest exercise equipment and a full-service spa. More than eight in 10 affluent leisure What affluent travelers want: Delayed check-out 24-hour roomservice Loyalty rewards What they don’t want: Daily service charges Personal butlers travelers are interested in premium bedding dressed with premium linen. The majority also wants signature bathroom amenities, terrycloth bathrobes in the guestrooms and a water closet separated from bathing facilities. Less than half find a flat-screen TV, DVD player, cordless telephone, stereo system with a CD player or in-room minibar appealing. Finally, in-room Internet technology actually is valued more highly than some of the other attributes mentioned. Threequarters of affluent leisure travelers now find free high-speed Internet access from their guestroom extremely/very desirable (whether wired or wireless). Luxury Hotelier | September 2007 | www.LuxuryHotelier.com http://www.LuxuryHotelier.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Luxury Hotelier - September 2007

EDITOR’S LETTER PUBLISHER’S LETTER INFORM NETWORK PERSONALITIES INSIGHT INSIGHT PROPERTIES ROPERTIES INSPIRE DELIVER PROTOCOLS INSIGHT INNOVATE DEVELOPMENT INDULGE INSIGHT CONNECT UPDATE DOSSIER

Luxury Hotelier - September 2007

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