NEW YORK — Travel behaviors changed hard and fast during the pandemic, and hotel brands had to keep up.
Now, new brands are emerging designed specifically for how people travel today. One of those is Hilton's Project H3 — the brand's working name while the company navigates the trademark process — a lower-midscale, extended-stay brand for guests needing a minimum 20-night stay.
Matt Schuyler, Hilton's chief brand officer, told Hotel News Now in an audio interview during the New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference that the changes in guests' expectations for hotels not only influenced how the company approached H3, but also how it's approaching its entire brand portfolio.
"Things have evolved rapidly post-pandemic in terms of guest expectations, needs, desires," he said. "They're seeing experiences more than ever before. They want to bring their pets with them. They want to bring their connected fitness with them. They want to make sure the brands they associate with are looking out for their well-being and all of this is quite different than pre-pandemic."
Across the board, Hilton's brands "are trying to pull all those threads all the way through" now by keeping these evolved desires top of mind across the company's portfolio of 22 hotel brands, he said.
Some examples: Hilton wants every hotel to be pet-friendly in the future, and amenities such as electric vehicle chargers are another focus.
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For H3 specifically, Schuyler said the company's research dove into not only how guests want to stay now, but how much they want to pay and where they see a need.
"It's interesting to see the notion of experiential travel being extended — the combination of business and leisure, and stay occasions that bear out over weeks, not days," he said. "And the opportunity to bring your work with you is quite different post-pandemic than it was pre-pandemic ... and our product suites need to match this need."
H3's apartment-like feel is designed to hit those marks and address what Schuyler said is "a trend that is inexorable. We don't think this is going to go away."
Two surprises that surfaced during the company's research while developing the brand: Guests wanted bathtubs and stoves, items Schuyler said he would have thought would be on the way out.
Outlets, hooks and lighting also topped the list.
"The passion around having great lighting in the bathroom was interesting," he said.
Of course, a new brand must not only satisfy guests, but also owners, he said. When the brand was announced in late May, the company said it was involved in more than 100 active development conversations, with several owners expressing interest in multiple locations.
The extended-stay segment is experiencing a renaissance post-pandemic, with new brands recently announced from Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Marriott International.
For more from Schuyler on Project H3 as well as how Hilton approaches brand launches in general, what brands inspire him and more, listen to the podcast above.