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Hoteliers are
also setting
their sights
on new
markets,
including the
burgeoning
flexible office
sector
In 2016, the Marriott Park Lane welcomed Notch, a pop-up rooftop bar revolving around Japanese street food
and cans of homemade cocktails
on returns, has allowed the short-term
rental market to flourish, especially
for luxury apartments hit by higher
SDLT rates.
However, disruption also breeds
innovation. The rapid growth of
platforms such as Airbnb is testament
to the vast market for travel products
outside of mainstream hotels - and
smart hoteliers are capitalising on the
trend. Hilton’s latest brand Tru (which
boasts the fastest growing pipeline
in the history of the hospitality
industry) owes its success to smart
and efficiently designed guest rooms,
reimagined public spaces and creative
updates around food and beverage.
On a smaller scale, stripped-down
but design-forward hotels like Yotel,
citizenM and 25hours have been
popping up in urban locations and
next to major hubs all over the world.
Additionally, some hotel groups
are offering Airbnb-style lodgings
alongside traditional offerings. Room
Mate Hotels now offers short-stay
urban apartments through a brand
called Be Mate, whereas Accor Hotels
(Europe’s largest hotel group) last
year bought London’s Onefinestay, an
upscale version of Airbnb, as well as
investing into 25hours.
Hoteliers are also setting their
sights on new markets, including the
burgeoning flexible office sector.
Partnering with LiquidSpace, Marriott
International has started testing a
new concept called Workspace on
Demand, which gives guests and non-
guests of 35 selected hotels in the US
the opportunity to book small scale
meeting space for an hourly fee. In
Europe, the chain has created Canvas,
a food-and-beverage talent incubator
designed to unlock the potential of
unused spaces in Marriott hotels and
leverage the hotel space to engage
the community. In 2016, the Marriott
Park Lane in London welcomed
Notch, a pop-up rooftop bar revolving
around Japanese street food and
cans of homemade cocktails, taking
inspiration from the millennial
hotspots of Williamsburg and Berlin.
The rise of the sharing economy
is irresistible. It reduces barriers to
entry, improves efficiencies and, in
many ways, adds to the customer
experience. Its effect is felt most
acutely in markets where cost
pressures are high and utilisation is
inefficient. Where already established,
sharing economy platforms will
continue to innovate and expand
vertically. This is the case with
Airbnb Trips and Airbnb Select in
the hospitality industry and Uber
Eats in the leisure sector. Similarly,
avant-garde hoteliers will embrace
innovation and reshape their own
core models to adapt to demand
for customisation, authenticity and
community engagement.
Challenge and change are positive
drivers for the guest experience but
the form of regulation applied to the
disruptors will be key to shaping the
industry going forwards. The clearer
the lines, the better the tourism
industry will be at managing and
sustaining the co-existence of its
brands.
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
19
TOURISM