"Good design can make all the difference"

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Good design can make all the difference
Matthew Garrahan on the increasing influence that creativity and good looks
exert on the business travel market
United Kingdom - The London Financial Times


It used to be a common assumption in the travel industry that dog-tired
executives, having spent the day stranded at an airport or breathing the
stale air of a long-haul flight, did not give much thought to the design of
their surroundings.

Airlines and hotel operators subsequently paid little heed to the interiors
of their aircraft or rooms. They knew that, unlike leisure travellers,
business travellers had to travel and would keep coming back.

However, with the international travel market growing increasingly
competitive, operators need new ways to make themselves stand out from their
rivals. Attractive design, be it in an aircraft cabin or hotel room, is now
seen as a way of getting noticed.

Clearly, design will not influence whether someone travels or stays at home.
"I don't think an executive would wake up in the morning and think: 'that
hotel has a new design, I'd better go on a business trip'," says David
Michels, chief executive of Hilton.

But when given the choice of a repeat visit to a well-designed hotel that
suits their needs or a badly designed one that does not, executives will
invariably choose the former.

Hotel operators vary in their approach to design. Barry Sternlicht, chairman
of Starwood, takes a very hands-on approach and is keen to expand the
company's trendy W boutique hotel brand to new markets.

Mr Sternlicht stepped down as chief executive of Starwood, which also owns
the Westin and Sheraton chains, to concentrate on new design ideas for W.

Starwood, which has only a handful of W hotels internationally, will soon
open the first European W in Barcelona. However, even larger chains should
make an effort with the design of their rooms and interiors, says Jennifer
Ploszaj, director of public affairs with InterContinental, part of
InterContinental Hotels Group.

Rooms at InterContinental hotels are designed to reflect their locations so
the company's Istanbul hotel features local art while the building has been
constructed with locally sourced materials, such as marble and gold leaf,
using Turkish building techniques.

It is unlikely that design helps boost the hotel's turnover but according to
Ms Ploszaj it is a vital part of a hotel's brand which, in turn, determines
how it is viewed by customers.

"The InterContinental brand has always been designed with local markets in
mind," she says. "So our Istanbul hotel is very opulent and has lots of
local and regional Turkish art. We find our customers enjoy soaking up the
local experience."

The group's new Atlanta hotel has been built using lots of glass and steel,
which Ms Ploszaj says reflects the youthful spirit of the city. "It is very
much about the InterContinental brand, which has always been about
reflecting local markets. Our sales team use (our local design) as a selling
tactic against our competitors."

Smaller hotel operators can experiment more widely with design. In
Amsterdam, the owners of the 116-room Lloyd Hotel offer guests a choice
between a one-star and a five-star room, with the price linked to the
difference in grade. Larger operators may pick up on the initiative if the
venture is a success, although it is likely to prove too costly for big
groups such as Marriott International because they would have to extend it
to hundreds of properties.

Noemi Blager, a hotel brand consultant with Blager Couper, says the design
of a particular property is a way for the hotel operator to express the
level of service they will aim to provide. "If they have put a lot of
thought into design they are showing how much they care (about their
customers)," she says.

Andrew Harvey, of Pan Pacific Hotels, says design can extend to the level of
choice that is given to customers. "Room design and lay-out is obviously
very important," he says. "But we are also looking at ways we can tailor our
rooms for individual guests. One of the things we can do is offer particular
pillows for particular clients so when they check-in we will know what type
of pillow they will require."

This level of service tends to be missing in airports. Most airports -
London's Heathrow and John F Kennedy airport in New York are good examples -
tend to be filled with shops and concession stands but lack basic facilities
for business travellers. It is only relatively new airports that have been
designed with an eye to passenger volumes of the 21st century, such as Kuala
Lumpur International Airport, with its soaring, vaulted ceilings, that tend
to catch the eye.

Like airports, airlines are hamstrung by the fact that their primary assets
- aircraft - can not be substantially redesigned. However, design and brand
identity on international carriers are clearly - and importantly - linked.

Virgin Atlantic pays particular attention to the design of its cabins. "All
airlines are trying to get from A to B," says Joe Ferry, Virgin's head of
design. "We need to get people to fly with us so we use design and service
to attract them."

The airline has relaunched its Upper Class suites and says it offers the
biggest, flattest bed in business class. Mr Ferry says the carrier also
makes sure its airport lounges reflect local destinations.

If design is important, the redesign of an airline's brand can be fraught.
British Airways decided to reposition itself in the 1990s by abandoning the
traditional Union flag logo that adorned the tailfins of its aircraft in
favour of international colours and images. The move was ridiculed by, among
others, Margaret Thatcher, then UK prime minister. The negative press
culminated in the carrier reverting to its traditional look.

Airlines seeking to reinvent themselves, such as Air Canada, which has
emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, will opt for a change in brand identity
with a redesign that will signal a new chapter in the company's history.

Similarly, a hotel looking to freshen up its image would inevitably opt for
a redesign accompanied by a press campaign to draw attention to its new
look. But do travellers actually notice - or care about - these changes?

"I honestly don't think the need for good design has accelerated over time,"
says David Michels, chief executive of Hilton. "The industry is constantly
innovating - it is not as if design has suddenly become important. It is
never a reason why people travel.

"The truth is that hotel companies care more about it than their customers
do. Their customers want good service and that's always going to be more
important."


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