Yahoo Finance Why your next hotel stay will be designed for a Millennial
The ever-growing buying power of Millennials has corporations feverishly trying to cater to the demographic as its next hot meal ticket. And the hotel industry is no different.
Gone are the days of prominent front desks in hotel lobbies or boring, cookie-cutter designs. And forget about charging a fee for Wi-Fi if you want the younger demographic to visit your establishment.
Millennials want hotels that offer local artisanal foods and craft beers that reflect the city in which they’re located. They crave connected public spaces for socializing and for doing business. As the first generation born and raised with technology, Millennials expect abundant Internet access, concierge apps and smartphone-enabled room selection.
The sheer size of the Millennial generation is what’s turning the heads of hoteliers and other sectors. In Canada, Millennials, aka Generation Y, were born roughly between 1980 and 2000. They comprise about 25 per cent of the population. At roughly nine million Canadians, Millennials are the next big generational movers and shakers, much as Baby Boomers were. They’re expected to shape politics, the workplace, business and culture in an unprecedented way thanks especially to the power of the Internet and communications technology, according to a report by Abacus Data, an Ottawa-based market research firm.
“Millennials are really driving the world,” says Keith Rushbrook, an interior designer and founding partner of II BY IV DESIGN in Toronto. “Hotel rooms are getting smaller and Millennials want larger public spaces that function at every level. Technology is really what is driving this.”
What Millennials are looking for
Space and furniture need to multi-function, especially as hotel guest rooms get smaller. Because Millennials are generally social, a hotel’s public space needs to act as a chameleon of sorts, providing comfortable and practical seating for lounging, socializing and working. The design of common space and furniture should offer guests the opportunity to have a private business meeting, if desired. In addition, public spaces must include easy connectivity for tech devices and smartphones and be designed to accommodate dining and enjoying a cocktail or mocha chai latte.
The old notion that big hotels were self-sufficient mini-cities offering guests everything from A to Z is so last century. Millennials in search of authentic experiences prefer to explore the world outside of their hotel. The design concept that a hotel brand looks and feels the same in Manhattan as it does in Hanoi is pretty much dead and gone, says Paul Morrisette, a principal for CHIL Interior Design, a Vancouver-based hospitality design studio.
“Hotels are embracing authenticity in design whether in colours, materials and patterns that represent where you are in the world,” says Morrisette. “The bulk of hotels are appealing to a younger, more mobile demographic who are happy with great rooms and a cool guest room that enables them to use technology without waiting and paying. The hotel isn’t the world they’re visiting anymore, it’s the resting place.”
A place just for them
Big hotel brands are courting Millennials with new hotels designed specifically for them. Hilton allows its members to select their rooms, check-in digitally and order a burger to arrive in their room before they open the door. Digital Key is a tool that allows guests to bypass the front desk completely by entering their rooms with their smartphones. The hotelier announced Canopy by Hilton in 2014, which is designed for leisure and business travellers who seek an energizing, comfortable, lifestyle-driven stay. As a nod to Millennial guests, Canopy looks to its surrounding neighbourhoods for design, art and food to create the ultimate lifestyle space.
Marriott’s Moxy Hotels, designed with the Millennial guest in mind, offer quiet and work zones within the lobby areas in addition to a host of other fun amenities, all reflective of the cheeky and playful brand, says Toni Stoeckl, vice president for Marriott International’s Lifestyle Brands. A gander at its lobby may take in a DJ booth, a foosball table, a giant Jenga game and psychic palm reader.
“Our living room is a very fuzzy, active space,” says Stoeckl. “So we’ve got great cocktails, 24-7 grab-and-go food, we may have arcade games, the idea is there is always something fun to be had. So you can be part of a good environment with like-minded people and other guests hanging out and having a really good time. That’s in the public space that’s really important to this guest. They want to be with others, connecting with others. This generation is very social and when they travel they love to have that extension of being able to connect with new people.”
Out with the old
And as hotels cozy up to Millennials, it’s no surprise that other non-Millennial generations are taking issue with some of the changes such as Marriott Hotels’ recent move to remove desks from some of its guest rooms. The decision to ditch desks prompted a stream of criticism on social media and travel forums such as Trip Advisor and FlyerTalk.com.
Still, the look and feel of tomorrow’s hotels might be decidedly Millennial, but other generations share their habits and values, too, says Randa Tukan, a director of hospitality interiors for the global design firm HOK. She believes more credit should be sent their way because Millennials are forcing architects and designers to rethink how hotels have traditionally worked and functioned.
“That’s the kind of thinking that pushes innovation,” says Tukan. “There’s a Millennial in all of us. So maybe I wasn’t connected 20 years ago, but I am now and it changes our behaviour and it applies to me too. I have the same neck problems that Millennials have too. They are seriously affecting how we design. It’s not linear any more. Millennials got us unstuck in the thinking that sitting has to happen on a chair. It doesn’t. That opens a whole other realm of discussion.”
