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| Houston's Hotel Hotspots |
With the beginning of 2012, the hotel and hospitality industry is looking at the new trends taking shape that will affect what travelers expect and how these businesses run. Locally, some Houston hotels are refreshing and reopening after recent renovations to the properties. In addition, take a look into a few offerings from Houston hotels that typically may be overlooked: outside event spaces and in-house catering.
Hospitality Trends for 2012
For the start of the new year, Meetings and Events Houston was on the lookout for the latest trends affecting hotels so planners know what to expect or to seek out when booking accommodations for their groups. For 2012, the focus is on increasing efficiency while bringing back personalization as hotels use new technologies and social media, individualize guest experiences, add extra amenities for the bed and bath and keep on track with sustainability.
One technology changing the hotel industry is the increasingly common electric car. As more people purchase these eco-friendlier vehicles, more hotels and resorts are offering electric-car charging stations as a convenient booking incentive for eco-conscious guests. For some, the presence of this amenity could be a deciding factor about where they stay.
As new mobile technologies keep changing the world, the hotel industry is changing with it. Hotels are capitalizing on the proliferation of smartphones and their app utilities, and the consequent consumer desire for handheld convenience, by offering custom apps for certain hotel services. From checking in electronically and ordering room service, drinks or movies to providing a local map of the hotel’s surroundings, there’s probably an app for that. Mobile technologies also keep travelers better informed of and able to find hotel deals as well as local restaurants or attractions tailored to their needs and schedules.
As always, often the best travel recommendations come from friends. Therefore, thus people are using online social-media networks to tap into these trusted opinions to make good travel decisions. Social media put customers at the center of marketing, and with them, hospitality marketers can create ongoing, two-way dialogues between their brands and customers. In addition, hospitality businesses can enhance this word-of-mouth advertising online by using tools that Facebook and other sites offer, including ads, pages, sponsored stories and social plugins.
All this technology may be making the hotel experience seem less personal, so hotels are developing other ways to personalize their guests’ experiences. Some hotels are eliminating the formal front desk in lieu of personal greetings, gifts or treats for repeat customers and curbside check-in. Lobbies also are becoming casual social hubs for the younger crowd with free Internet, souvenirs and trendy self-service snack, cocktail and coffee bars.
Hotels also are expanding their customized service options with attention to guests’ issues, such as dietary requirements or culturally appropriate in-room amenities, and preferences, such as recommending offbeat dining or leisure activities as well as offering in-hotel educational experiences like cooking classes, gardening opportunities and massage instruction.
The locavore and hyperlocal dining trend is seeping into the hotel industry as well, particularly at high-end and boutique properties. Some of these hotel and resort chefs are growing their own herbs or using local produce in their cuisine for a personal touch and to meet the demands of this growing dietary desire.
In the guestrooms, many hotels offer customized turndown with sweets that recreate childhood memories. Look for seasonal treats, such as hot chocolate, and Rice Krispie treats, Cracker Jacks or cookies and milk. And since, at the most basic level, hotels are about getting rest for the next day, many of them are enhancing their guestrooms with a superior sleep experience by offering Sleep Number or Tempur-Pedic beds and hypoallergenic or organic sheets.
In the bathrooms, hotel guests will see the disappearance of tubs as hotels cater more to the business traveler who doesn’t have time for a long soak. Suites will still feature the full tub, but many newly built hotels are offering “shower only” rooms. Hotels also are going away from tiny shampoo bottles and individually wrapped soap and toward the less costly and more environmentally sound pump dispensers that let guests use what they need without creating as much waste.
The sustainable and environmentally conscious trend is pervading other aspects of the industry as well. Travelers are requesting transparency about hotels’ green practices, and hotels are displaying it. Many hotels also offer elective daily cleaning programs for multiple-night guests so eco-conscious travelers can help the hotel cut down on unnecessary cleaning thus saving labor, time and natural resources.
With new technology, enhanced personalization, additional comfort luxuries and sustainability in the collective consciousness of the hotel industry, travelers and event planners should expect to see these influences reflected as they go forward in the new year.
Recent Renovations
Some staples of the Houston hotel landscape recently were refreshed and renewed to continue offering chic, up-to-date hospitality options for Bayou City visitors. Following are just a few of the newly spruced-up spaces.
An $11 million renovation at the 1,200-room Hilton Americas-Houston just finished in September 2011. All guestrooms were redesigned, adding new luxury beds, HDTVs and workstations with ergonomic chairs. In addition, new carpeting was placed throughout the hotel’s 91,500 square feet of meeting space and prefunction areas. Connected to the George R. Brown Convention Center, the property continues to offer two restaurants, a lobby bar and a full-service spa and health club.
Hospitality Trends for 2012
For the start of the new year, Meetings and Events Houston was on the lookout for the latest trends affecting hotels so planners know what to expect or to seek out when booking accommodations for their groups. For 2012, the focus is on increasing efficiency while bringing back personalization as hotels use new technologies and social media, individualize guest experiences, add extra amenities for the bed and bath and keep on track with sustainability.
One technology changing the hotel industry is the increasingly common electric car. As more people purchase these eco-friendlier vehicles, more hotels and resorts are offering electric-car charging stations as a convenient booking incentive for eco-conscious guests. For some, the presence of this amenity could be a deciding factor about where they stay.
As new mobile technologies keep changing the world, the hotel industry is changing with it. Hotels are capitalizing on the proliferation of smartphones and their app utilities, and the consequent consumer desire for handheld convenience, by offering custom apps for certain hotel services. From checking in electronically and ordering room service, drinks or movies to providing a local map of the hotel’s surroundings, there’s probably an app for that. Mobile technologies also keep travelers better informed of and able to find hotel deals as well as local restaurants or attractions tailored to their needs and schedules.
As always, often the best travel recommendations come from friends. Therefore, thus people are using online social-media networks to tap into these trusted opinions to make good travel decisions. Social media put customers at the center of marketing, and with them, hospitality marketers can create ongoing, two-way dialogues between their brands and customers. In addition, hospitality businesses can enhance this word-of-mouth advertising online by using tools that Facebook and other sites offer, including ads, pages, sponsored stories and social plugins.
All this technology may be making the hotel experience seem less personal, so hotels are developing other ways to personalize their guests’ experiences. Some hotels are eliminating the formal front desk in lieu of personal greetings, gifts or treats for repeat customers and curbside check-in. Lobbies also are becoming casual social hubs for the younger crowd with free Internet, souvenirs and trendy self-service snack, cocktail and coffee bars.
Hotels also are expanding their customized service options with attention to guests’ issues, such as dietary requirements or culturally appropriate in-room amenities, and preferences, such as recommending offbeat dining or leisure activities as well as offering in-hotel educational experiences like cooking classes, gardening opportunities and massage instruction.
The locavore and hyperlocal dining trend is seeping into the hotel industry as well, particularly at high-end and boutique properties. Some of these hotel and resort chefs are growing their own herbs or using local produce in their cuisine for a personal touch and to meet the demands of this growing dietary desire.
In the guestrooms, many hotels offer customized turndown with sweets that recreate childhood memories. Look for seasonal treats, such as hot chocolate, and Rice Krispie treats, Cracker Jacks or cookies and milk. And since, at the most basic level, hotels are about getting rest for the next day, many of them are enhancing their guestrooms with a superior sleep experience by offering Sleep Number or Tempur-Pedic beds and hypoallergenic or organic sheets.
In the bathrooms, hotel guests will see the disappearance of tubs as hotels cater more to the business traveler who doesn’t have time for a long soak. Suites will still feature the full tub, but many newly built hotels are offering “shower only” rooms. Hotels also are going away from tiny shampoo bottles and individually wrapped soap and toward the less costly and more environmentally sound pump dispensers that let guests use what they need without creating as much waste.
The sustainable and environmentally conscious trend is pervading other aspects of the industry as well. Travelers are requesting transparency about hotels’ green practices, and hotels are displaying it. Many hotels also offer elective daily cleaning programs for multiple-night guests so eco-conscious travelers can help the hotel cut down on unnecessary cleaning thus saving labor, time and natural resources.
With new technology, enhanced personalization, additional comfort luxuries and sustainability in the collective consciousness of the hotel industry, travelers and event planners should expect to see these influences reflected as they go forward in the new year.
Recent Renovations
Some staples of the Houston hotel landscape recently were refreshed and renewed to continue offering chic, up-to-date hospitality options for Bayou City visitors. Following are just a few of the newly spruced-up spaces.
An $11 million renovation at the 1,200-room Hilton Americas-Houston just finished in September 2011. All guestrooms were redesigned, adding new luxury beds, HDTVs and workstations with ergonomic chairs. In addition, new carpeting was placed throughout the hotel’s 91,500 square feet of meeting space and prefunction areas. Connected to the George R. Brown Convention Center, the property continues to offer two restaurants, a lobby bar and a full-service spa and health club.
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editorial@MeetingPlannerResources.org. We will contact you if your submission is chosen.