REPORT FORM THE U.S.— Hotel owners and management companies are renovating their assets to ensure facilities and amenities are able to keep up with the needs of technologically savvy, millennial and social travelers.
“Hotels are re-inventing themselves more so now than I’ve ever seen before,” said Mario R. LaGuardia, partner of MLG Architects, a hotel-focused architecture firm based in New York.
“There’s a real importance in seeing how people are using hotel space today, and hoteliers are busy trying to be a step ahead to prepare for this new generation of hotel guest,” he said.
LaGuardia said so far this year he’s seen an uptick in the number of request for proposals to assist with renovation, construction and new-build work throughout the United States. MLG Architects recently contributed to the repositioning of FelCor Lodging Trust’s Morgans Hotel, as well as the Park Central Hotel in New York, and the refreshing of the Sheraton New York Hotel.
“We’re also seeing a lot of Marriotts pushing toward changes to keep up with new demographics and brand standards requiring relevant upgrades,” he said.
Loews Hotels & Resorts’ Richard Senechal, executive VP overseeing construction and renovation projects for the 19-hotel collection, agreed.
“This generation’s expectation of what hotels should offer—that’s what we’re seeing in our renovations throughout the Loews system,” he said. “The enhancements in lobbies, guestrooms, and food and beverage are more contemporary, ‘plugged-in.’ And we’re trying to always stay ahead of these trends.”
Here are the top three trends highlighted by sources.
1. Social lobbies
An inviting lobby, where guests can power up, connect to Wi-Fi, meet with colleagues or conduct business privately while out of their hotel rooms, comprise the concept of the new hotel staple, the “social lobby.”
“Loews’ Lobby Initiative is to create a lobby experience as a gathering space for small groups to meet and socialize,” Senechal said. “We encourage this by providing ubiquitous Wi-Fi. And we are providing places so that anywhere you sit down, there’s a place to plug in to charge your phone or laptop and even plug in a USB drive.”
“The traditional enclosed business center is being remade into a more informal, social lounge space offering signature coffee drinks, high-speed Wi-Fi, couches, chairs and low tables suitable for travelers or visitors working on laptops or using tablets and other digital devices,” said Gene Kaufman, founder of Gene Kaufman Architect. Kaufman recently redesigned the lobby spaces of the Crowne Plaza at JFK Airport as well as the Springhill Suites Hotel on West 37th Street in New York, among others.
Ginny Morrison, VP of sales & marketing for Spire Hospitality, echoed the push toward creating more social gathering areas in Spire’s 20 hotels. With the acquisition of the “E8,” the eight Embassy Suites Spire purchased in January 2014, the brand will embark upon a complete head-to-toe renovation due to be completed by the end of this year.
“We’ll be redesigning the atriums into more productive and desirable meeting areas and the type of public space our guests are asking for,” Morrison said.
2. Plugged-in guestrooms
Hotel brands are incorporating the increased technological demands of guests who travel with their laptops, smartphones and other devices that need to be charged and plugged in—and all at the same time.
“The number of guest-accessible outlets in the sleeping rooms is increasing,” Loews’ Senechal said. “Guests today travel with as many as five devices which need to be plugged in. Now imagine a family of four and how many outlets are needed. Our typical guestroom in the Regency hotel has 10 available outlets in addition to the outlets used for lamps and other equipment.”
The Regency, which recently reopened after 54 weeks of closure, comprehensive gutting and a $100-million investment, is the highlight of the recent Loews renovations projects. Guestrooms also were redone in Loews properties in Montreal, Hollywood and Boston. But because Loews ownership and management teams continuously read guest comments and review guest preferences, necessary upgrades and enhancements in the guestrooms can be incorporated quickly into the scheduled projects, Senechal said.
Spire’s new DoubleTree in Boca Raton, Florida, has the feel of a new hotel inside the shell of an older building, according to Morrison.
“Our guestrooms have at least four outlets on either side of the bed, more in the lamp, and all at waist height so no one has to crawl or bend,” she said. “Even the bathrooms have more outlets. Guests in the past would bring power strips to plug in. No need for that anymore.”
3. Reinventing F&B
An opportunity to reconfigure F&B restaurant design as well as menu concept also is included in many of the hotel renovation projects under way.
“What was once a rarity, the rooftop bar/lounge, has become almost a required component of hotel public spaces, both new construction and retrofit projects,” Kaufman said. “These new spaces have transformed the notion of hotels as private enclaves into hotels as the new meeting spaces for visitors and city residents.”
“People want to work in a public area and perhaps gather with colleagues, but still have their privacy to view streaming video or plug in,” Morrison said.
And, with Spire’s new Embassy Suites as well as the rebranded DoubleTree (formerly a Hilton) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, “we’re going for a more casual dining experience—a social gathering. This more casual feel includes smaller portions and items to share,” she said.
With smaller portions for individual diners as well as menu items intended for sharing, the restaurant allows another opportunity for travelers to enjoy privacy or have the option to dine with colleagues and friends, she added.
Loews also is looking to make its F&B more relevant.
“We’re developing new market competitive restaurants and new concepts, and even partnering with celebrity chefs in a couple of our markets,” Senechal said.
Loews also is renovating to ensure that their restaurants have a strong street-side visibility, with a perception that they are free standing. During construction of its hotel in Boston, Loews changed the property’s entrances to allow the restaurant to have its own physical entry. Marketing the restaurant as free standing can boost the cache to locals and tourists as well as allow the chef and restaurant reputation to take on a life of its own, Senechal said.
Containing costs
Igor Krnajski, senior VP of design & construction for Denihan Hospitality Group, recently completed several renovations, including the Affinia 50 in New York. He said costs of labor and construction have increased, but they are still below 2006-2007 levels.
Senechal said he’s seen gradual increases in construction costs of between 2.5% to 2.8%.
“These are normal increases of costs, so no great surprises,” he added.