The Spa, it’s often one of the best parts of the hotel experience; I’m writing this column from the spa at Blantyre Resort in Lenox, Massachusetts. Just outside the treatment rooms of this cozy little carriage house sits a closed-in glass-wall jacuzzi area, complete with lounge chairs and tables for dining, catching up with friends, [...]
Hotels
How Hotels Inspire Travelers
Hotels are on a mission to differentiate themselves; whether it’s creative food and beverage concepts or day camps for kids, the better and more unique the offerings, the more appealing the hotel. Today, hotels are constantly perfecting the “experience”. It’s not just about perfectly decorated rooms or one-of-a-kind art prints; it’s about providing an experience [...]
Lifestyle
More Hotels Focusing on Fashion Designers
In my opinion, luxury hotels and fashion houses go hand-in-hand; they both offer the best in elegant and trendy concepts – whether in the form of fabric or bathroom toiletries. So it’s no wonder more luxury hotels are turning to to designers to create one-of-a-kind experiences for their guests. While some designers are called on [...]
Hotels
Hotels: Have You “Pinned” Your Brand to Pinterest?
Those of us who work in the travel industry know it’s not enough to just connect with guests and consumers online – we have to be on top of all the ways communication works today; that means for hotels with thousands of rooms in hundreds of countries…. Keeping up with new forms of social media [...]
Hotels
Hotel Lobbies: The Original “Social Network”
Today’s hotel guest is starting to look at the hotel as part of the destination, and not just a place to lay their bags. In an effort to accommodate and engage the social savvy traveler, hotels are starting to recreate their lobby and public areas to invite a more “social space” for guests, and the [...]
Europe Travel
Tale of a True Renaissance: London’s St. Pancras Hotel
If you listen closely, you can still hear the swooshing of the wide Victorian dresses on women as they walked down the hallways of the St. Pancras Hotel in the 1800s. Built to accommodate the glamor of the time, the unusually wide hallways at the St. Pancras are adorned with dimly-lit chandeliers and red and gold [...]
Hotels
Hotels: Have You Lost Your Human Connection?
Hoteliers often ask me, ‘Why do we need to invest in social media?’ My response: ‘How well are you connected with your consumers?’ My question is usually met with blank stares and raised eyebrows. What does one have to do with another? How does social media have anything to do with getting to know your [...]
Asia Travel
Luxury Hotels Embrace 2011 With Social Media, Authentic Experiences
With one month into the new year, hotels have begun implementing their 2011 plans for growth and with good news: spending on luxury travel is on the rise, allowing luxury hotel groups to price out accordingly and recover from a few years of a less-than-ideal bottom lines. Today’s luxury traveler is back in the game, [...]
Hotels
Hotels That Make a Grand First Impression
Walking into a hotel for the first time is like meeting a blind date — first impressions count and if the hotel (or date, for that matter) doesn’t appeal it’s likely you won’t go back for seconds. Hotels hire the best of the best designers to create that unique first impression. Working with space, color, [...]
Asia Travel
First Look: World’s Tallest Hotel, Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong
Maybe the Ritz-Carlton saw the Armani Hotel Dubai in the Burj Khalifa–the current tallest building in the world–as a challenge. Or, maybe the hotel group just wanted to create some local competition with the Park Hyatt Shanghai (to date the highest rooftop observation deck in Asia). Or, maybe still, the pending opening of the tallest [...]
