Hospitality Design - August 2009 - 88

on site talking luxury Left, from top: The Constellation Suite at Capella Singapore, a Sentosa Island hotel; the dramatic concierge desk at the newly opened Rosewood Sand Hill. expectation for what they get for the money is growing. They need to spend money wisely, and when they do splurge they want to get something for it. From an amenity standpoint, we believe they are looking for something more experiential—a great spa, something really focused on children and families. We are offering different ways of engaging our guests so they stay with us, and spend more money. overspending, it seems to have found the way into people’s vocabulary a year ago, but today, it is very hushed. People may be buying and renting villas, but they aren’t telling their neighbors. All of our clients lost money, but they still have money, that’s not the issue. The question is the mindset—it feels inappropriate or insensitive to friends that have lost jobs. HD: Gen X and Gen Y are changing the face of PB: I believe that our guests want that ‘sense of arrival’ as they come to every Peninsula hotel and to experience the destination in more intimate ways through our partnerships forged with the local community. As a company we have not laid off anyone. To provide the level of service our guests expect, we highly invest in the training of our people. Even during these difficult times guests who stay with us expect the same level of attention and service if not more. travel. How are you adapting? RB: Rosewood’s clientele is a bit older, but we are still attracting Gen X and Y. We have a number of programs that resonate [with these travelers]. We look at things like technology in our guestrooms. Guests can borrow a Flip [UltraHD] digital camera during their stay, download the videos, and walk away with memories. It’s a fun thing. We always think about what we can do for the younger generation. But people want simplicity. We don’t want to make these guestrooms complicated. Some of electronics have gotten complicated—we continually strive to make them simple. We also have a presence on the online social networks. HS: Guests want truth versus fancy. Furniture made of local hardwood, rather than something fancy from Italy; a cast iron local chandelier rather than Waterford crystal. A sense of place, should be more relevant to the spaces we were building in. If you were up in the mountains of Colorado, a Boston look didn’t work. That was the beginning, and we stuck to that plan, and all new hotels are very relevant to their space. The design is more casually elegant, not too stiff and unapproachable. something real, something that fits in; it’s first class, but locally made. Not something that’s gimmicky, but real. A customer wants to be connected to the culture. HS: An exciting new thing is there’s much more family-related vacation travel. Three generations are coming in. In our properties, we are including larger suites—three-bedroom, two-bedroom suites. Even though we are a super luxurious place, a large percent of family travel is Gen X and Y. In many ways, they are more adventurous. They want the sports, tours, activities. They want to connect to the world around them, otherwise they get easily bored. They don’t come like people did 30 years ago to sleep and sit on beach. RB: I have a story from a couple of weeks ago that sums this up. A reservationist came in curious; she didn’t know who all these new customers were, all asking for discounts and value adds. I went back and researched and it was the same people calling. Exact same customer [as before], but the world has educated them that everything is on sale. [Before] the rate didn’t matter, ‘Do you have any specials or packages’ never used to be a question. In terms of this idea of decadence and HD: What do you think guests today expect/ want in luxury hotels? BB: I think from a guest standpoint, everyone talks today about luxury lifestyle. We are striving to provide a one of a kind experience, something that provides an immediate impact, the wow factor. Especially leisure travelers. They are willing to pay for service, but the PB: We started addressing their needs and preferred manner of communication by 88 hospitalitydesign www.hdmag.com

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