Changing Dynamics in the Resort Sector
Muriel Muirden
WATG
November 2013
GEN-Y IMPACT
• High Performers / High Maintenance.
• Global citizens, socially and environmentally conscious, superb multi-
taskers.
• From their hotel experience they want flexibility / multiple options /
total connectivity.
• They want ‘wow’ factor design, community connection, casual service
and animated environments.
• And just when it couldn’t get any tougher – they have no sense of
brand fidelity.
FAMILY VALUES
• Multi-generational travel increasing globally and driving demand for
forms of lodging that can accommodate large family groups.
• Gen X parents placing strong emphasis on outdoor education and
children’s programming.
• Boomer grandparents want shared experiences.
• Need for resorts to offer broad-based amenity and sports strategies to
appeal to all age cohorts.
• Need for ‘golf-lite’ solutions that connect younger generations to the
game.
CYCLING – THE NEW GOLF
• Family active break market up 30% in Europe.
• Cycling is cool and hip – designer stores for bikes and cycling gear
are booming – cycling and walking holidays experiencing 20% year-
on-year growth rate.
• Endemic of several key trends including ‘family values’, ‘the pursuit of
happiness’, ‘craving simplicity’, ‘back to nature’.
• ‘Eco Pods’: resort expansion strategies based on ‘glamping concepts’
– generating premium rates for the back to nature experience.
• Time to rethink on-site resort amenity away from golf towards
maximising opportunities to enjoy and experience the natural
environment.
Atlantic Surf Pods, Cornwall, UK
MICE IS BACK…AND IT’S FUN!
• Bounce back in the conference and meetings market.
• Seeking fun environments, casual approach and healthy eating
options.
• Breakout space with pool tables, ‘comfy sofas’ and environments that
encourage social interaction.
• Outdoor breakout spaces being designed in a resort context.
The OUT Hotel, NYC
Lord’s South Beach, Miami
Business Playground Meeting Room,
Pullman St. Pancras, UK
REDEFINING LUXURY
• Need a radical rethink of luxury resort hotel product to get finance
traction.
• Do we need large reception spaces? Hyatt Andaz has replaced check
in desks with ‘hosts’ equipped with tablet computers.
• Can a seasonal resort sustain six to eight food and beverage outlets?
Using technology, we can create chameleon facilities that can change
in ambience and reinvent themselves.
• With a desire for de-cluttering can we relook at room bay sizes?
• Back of house areas can be more efficient – we need to invest time
and energy into rethinking how hotels operate.
• Spas and clubhouses have grown in size to a level where intimacy is
questionable and development costs simply cannot be carried.
Hyatt Andaz
Four Seasons Anahita
DESIGN TRENDS OF NOTE
• Animated Lobbies: more of a social space than an administrative space.
Chameleon-like activities from day to night (internet café to animated
cocktail bar). Music, lighting, technology and art play a key role.
• ‘Pop Culture’: ‘pop-up’ restaurants – seasonal themes or celebrity brand
driven – revitalises the image and atmosphere of a hotel property.
• ‘Gadgets Galore’: bedside tablets that can change all facilities and
information throughout the room – and the ambience.
• Outdoor Public Spaces: greater emphasis on design of outdoor spaces
as an extension of hotel lobbies and aspirational refuges for guests.
• Bright Colours Back in Fashion: aimed at lifting spirits in challenging
times.
• ‘Fitness Focus’: trend for healthier travel, driving food and beverage
concepts, in-room fitness innovations and ‘best in class’ hotel gyms.
• ‘Green is the New Black’: vertical gardens as an interior design
statement and a statement of eco-integrity. Rooftop and resort gardens
pushing the ‘farm to table’ concept.
Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris, France
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