Historically speaking, hotels always have been big draws in their communities. It was not all that long ago that hotels—especially full-service hotels—occupied an important place on the social landscape of cities and towns across the country.
As powerful economic engines and influential social centers, the full-service hotel was where everyone went dancing on Saturday night, where weddings were held and where dinner parties and special events were a common occurrence.
It was less than a generation ago when the hottest clubs in town could be found in the Ramadas and the Sheratons, where there was always a live band in the lounge. And those lounges were always packed.
Much more than a traveler’s pit stop, hotels exuded a sense of glamour and excitement. They were places to see and be seen. Many baby boomers today can no doubt remember a time when young, good-looking people used to regularly hang out at hotel bars, creating a ripple effect. The cool people were there, so others wanted to be there too. Behind the scenes, hotels used to compete fiercely to attract airline crews because they frequently tended to be made up of young, hip individuals who would draw crowds and contribute to that exciting vibe and heightened social dynamic.
This trip down memory lane is not just idle nostalgic reminiscing. It is a reminder of how influential hotels traditionally were in many markets and of the central role they played in knitting together the social and commercial fabric of communities.
It is also an indication of how important hotels can be again if we, as an industry, successfully reclaim our social power, harness our potential as natural gathering spaces and communicate our value as an economic powerhouse, all while being vocal advocates for our own interests.
If savvy brands, owners, operators and developers devote more time and resources to reclaiming this societal and local economic role, hotels once again can be game changers.
What’s old is new again
Forward-thinking hotel chains, owners and operators are taking steps to beef up their experiential horsepower. They are leveraging social equity by investing in and improving facilities, emphasizing their dining and entertainment offerings with better programming and more sophisticated marketing.
Additionally, they are taking an innovative approach to respond to emerging trends and meeting the needs of influential demographic segments. The industry has made significant progress as of late, and the social landscape of many full-service hotels looks a bit different than it did just 10 years ago.
Take the hotel bar, for example. At a time when hotels were the center of the social scene, the hotel bar was the heart of it all. Hotels are re-emphasizing the bar, bringing it out into the lobby (instead of tucked away out of sight) or up on a rooftop, making it a place where guests and visitors can congregate and feel equally comfortable grabbing a bite to eat, having a drink, watching a game or meeting friends and coworkers.
In a broader sense, the added value of entertainment and the potential power and appeal of social engagement to improve the guest experience has led to a number of renovations and new builds with impressively stylish and comfortable lobbies. The push to transform the lobby area from utilitarian functionality to a welcoming and festive public gathering space coincides with an ongoing hotel industry push to accommodate and attract the influential millennial demographic.
Millennials are emblematic of a new generation of guests and travelers who are significantly less likely to stay in their rooms all night and are more likely to go downstairs with their smartphone or tablet to check out the social scene in the restaurant, bar or lobby area. In response to this sociocultural behavioral trend, many hotel owners and operators are beginning to design and implement unique social events and specialized programming into their operational calendar.
Hotels with an established gathering place and a sophisticated understanding of how to capitalize on their social potential are finding themselves ahead of the industry curve. Depending on how you look at it, it is either an ironic twist or a fitting development that many hotels are having great success by moving to a hospitality model that was more common several decades ago.
An economic engine
At the same time that many hotels are rediscovering their influence as social venues, it is worth remembering that, ultimately, the bottom line is the bottom line. The continued strong performance and growth in the industry is a reminder that there is no business that can make a faster improvement in a community’s financial position than tourism.
When a town with no major hotel adds a new facility, that town immediately gains a sales-tax revenue stream. The hotel is both a powerful employment engine—typically employing hundreds of local workers—and a merchant that primarily sells locally sourced items in the hotel restaurant, through roomservice, etc. Hotels start generating sales-tax revenue from Day One. The town does not have to wait for real estate taxes to start coming in.
In terms of its economic impact, a hotel is also remarkably generous. A hotel property tends to spread the financial wealth around to many/most nearby businesses by drawing people into the area and creating more demand for local goods and services nearby.
As hotels become established in the marketplace, they can become great resources for special events and celebrations, enhance the business appeal by providing a space for conferences and professional gatherings and add vibrancy and legitimacy to a city, town or neighborhood. When people are deciding where to vacation or to stay, they want to go where they know there are nice hotels. If there is a nice hotel in the community, people are far more likely to stay, to play and to pay.
Talk the talk
Hoteliers also can speak up and speak out on their own behalf.
In the past, the industry has done a pretty lousy job of taking advantage of the prominent role we play in communities. We need to get better at parlaying that influence into both our public messaging and our private communications.
Hoteliers should make a special effort to connect with local, influential politicians who already are using their hotels’ services and amenities. Hotel professionals who talk to civic and government officials are finding that when you tell them you are in the hotel business and you name your hotel or hotels, it is very easy to get and keep their attention. These are people who likely make frequent use of your facilities—not only as travelers and guests, but as venues for important announcements and celebrations. Politicians, due to their frequent travel, feel a deep connection with hotels, and this connection needs to be utilized and maximized by hotel owners to ensure that their voice is heard on everything from regulatory decisions to economic policy.
Hotel professionals who embrace these strategies—improving their social significance, emphasizing their economic influence and maximizing their political and messaging opportunities—will find these strategies, much like great hotels, can be true game changers.
First Hospitality Group, Inc. has been involved in the development, ownership and management of hotels since 1985. Currently, the First Hospitality Group, Inc. portfolio consists primarily of Hilton and Marriott affiliated assets. In addition, First Hospitality Group, Inc. has ownership interests and manages hotels affiliated with InterContinental, Hyatt and Carlson. For further information, visit www.fhginc.com or call Robert Habeeb at 847-299-9040.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or its parent company, STR and its affiliated companies. Columnists published on this site are given the freedom to express views that may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussion within our reader community. Please feel free to comment or contact an editor with any questions or concerns.