A focus on guest needs is the key to successful innovation, according to some of the leading innovative hospitality brands.
Sharan Pasricha, Co-CEO of Ennismore, said the group had gone from offering prepaid, non-refundable bookings to being ultra flexible during the pandemic – and took it one step further.
He told an audience gathered at the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin last week: “We asked ourselves, ‘why don’t we just ask our customers when they want to check into our hotels?’”
Hoxton guests now have the flexibility to check into a hotel whenever they want. Pasricha said the move had been “wildly beneficial” and had allowed the brand to better serve guests taking late night or early morning flights.
“You have to be open to listen to what they’re [guests] saying and implement it within your operation,” agreed fellow panellist John Philipson, COO of Cheval Collection.
Pasricha said he was inspired by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos’ customer obsession. “If you follow the guest and you put yourself in the mind of the consumer, you start thinking about why you can’t do things slightly differently… [this] leads to asking good questions.”
For instance, Ennismore hired software engineers to develop the company website’s user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). “I couldn’t quite understand why we care about our physical spaces so much but the digital journey across our hotels was so archaic,” he said. “We care so much about the physical product – the first guest interaction is on our brand.com.”
Martin Stockburger, CEO of the seven-strong group Koncept Hotels, said that if 99% of operators are doing something one way, then the innovation will be elsewhere.
Pasricha suggested that ecommerce was a good industry for hotel businesses to aspire towards, with digital payments something Ennismore has been focused on. The brand put Apple Pay on its booking engine approximately four years ago and of the 50% of its direct bookings, approximately 40% of which are on mobile, about half of those mobile payments are now made using Apple Pay.
Meanwhile, Philipson said that the technology approach for Cheval Collection’s new MY Locanda brand, which is expected to open its first property in Glasgow in 2024, was “keeping them up at night: how much tech, what sort of tech, will it truly add value to the operations and to the guest?”
The panellists agreed the future of innovation in the hospitality sector would be people-focused, with Philipson highlighting the importance of concepts being delivered by people.
“The hardware war is done. The next innovative thing is sustainability,” added Stockburger. “Our guests care more and more every day what our views are and what we’re doing,” agreed Pasricha.
“Where you stay, where you work, says a lot about who you are more so today than perhaps 10 years ago, so your employer brand, your values, your culture, what you stand for, is no longer a tagline at the bottom of your website.”
Late last year, Accor became the majority owner of a new lifestyle hospitality entity with Ennismore under the terms of an all-share merger. The portfolio has 92 properties globally, with an additional 150 in the pipeline, bringing its lifestyle brands together under one roof including 25hours, JO&JOE, Mama Shelter, Mondrian, and The Hoxton.