Am I in Heaven, or Am I in My Hotel?
By REENA JANA
And Then There's Dubai
Hilton (HLT), Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (HOT), Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), and Marriott (MAR) have all recently announced expansion of their offerings in India.
The Middle East is also quickly becoming a site of spectacular hotel design firsts and broken records, led by the United Arab Emirates. Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, also the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and president of the Dubai Development & Investment Authority (DDIA), hopes to attract 15 million tourists in 2010, up from 5.24 million in 2003.
Why 2010? Sources such as The Economist predict that Dubai's known oil reserves will be tapped by that year. Dubai is racing to pump up new industries, such as tourism.
Gilding the Lily
Currently, well-heeled visitors to Dubai can stay at the luxe Burj Al-Arab, which features a helipad, the world's tallest atrium, and an underwater seafood restaurant. Not far from Dubai, in Abu Dhabi, another of the seven United Arab Emirates, the world's most expensive hotel, the Emirates Palace, opened recently (built at a cost of approximately $3.9 billion). Like the Burj Al-Arab, the Emirates Palace features a helipad, as well as more than a 100 domes and the largest swath of interior, gold-leaf embellishment in the world.
Even as high-end hotels work to out-luxe the competition, they must contend with new, lower-priced options that offer the sophisticated decor or amenities once only found in five-star lodgings. Starwood, for example, plans to launch its aloft brand (see BusinessWeek.com, 8/23/06, "Starwood Hotels Explore Second Life First") in 2008, as a budget-friendly yet stylish, loft-style chain.
The trend toward more stylish design standards across all hotel categories is further evidenced by the December, 2005, reopening of the Newport Beach Marriott. The hotel's $70 million renovation included a new state-of-the-art spa and 17-foot-high glass walls for spectacular ocean views. Before, the 31-year-old property looked like any conventional Marriott, with nondescript-but-pleasant decor in the lobby and rooms -- and, of course, no spa.
The Spa Package
After the makeover, the Newport Beach Marriott & Spa ("spa" is now part of the official title) is a one-off luxury resort—exactly Marriott's goal, as the company customized the layout specifically for the ritzy Southern California location rather than reflecting a more generic, hotel chain look.
"The hotel was built in the mid-1970s and expanded in the mid-1980s. It still looked like the mid-1970s definition of 'quality.' But things change," says Bob Shorb, vice-president of development at Host Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Newport Marriott Hotel & Spa (operated under contract by Marriott International). "There's a lot of demand among business and leisure travelers for amenities such as spas today."
It seems unlikely that today's ultra-high-end amenities such as helipads will catch on beyond the luxury hotel category. But hoteliers of all stripes will have to watch what the world's most discerning business and leisure travelers expect, in order to further distinguish their brands and thrive in an increasingly competitive environment.
Hilton (HLT), Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (HOT), Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), and Marriott (MAR) have all recently announced expansion of their offerings in India.
The Middle East is also quickly becoming a site of spectacular hotel design firsts and broken records, led by the United Arab Emirates. Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, also the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and president of the Dubai Development & Investment Authority (DDIA), hopes to attract 15 million tourists in 2010, up from 5.24 million in 2003.
Why 2010? Sources such as The Economist predict that Dubai's known oil reserves will be tapped by that year. Dubai is racing to pump up new industries, such as tourism.
Gilding the Lily
Currently, well-heeled visitors to Dubai can stay at the luxe Burj Al-Arab, which features a helipad, the world's tallest atrium, and an underwater seafood restaurant. Not far from Dubai, in Abu Dhabi, another of the seven United Arab Emirates, the world's most expensive hotel, the Emirates Palace, opened recently (built at a cost of approximately $3.9 billion). Like the Burj Al-Arab, the Emirates Palace features a helipad, as well as more than a 100 domes and the largest swath of interior, gold-leaf embellishment in the world.
Even as high-end hotels work to out-luxe the competition, they must contend with new, lower-priced options that offer the sophisticated decor or amenities once only found in five-star lodgings. Starwood, for example, plans to launch its aloft brand (see BusinessWeek.com, 8/23/06, "Starwood Hotels Explore Second Life First") in 2008, as a budget-friendly yet stylish, loft-style chain.
The trend toward more stylish design standards across all hotel categories is further evidenced by the December, 2005, reopening of the Newport Beach Marriott. The hotel's $70 million renovation included a new state-of-the-art spa and 17-foot-high glass walls for spectacular ocean views. Before, the 31-year-old property looked like any conventional Marriott, with nondescript-but-pleasant decor in the lobby and rooms -- and, of course, no spa.
The Spa Package
After the makeover, the Newport Beach Marriott & Spa ("spa" is now part of the official title) is a one-off luxury resort—exactly Marriott's goal, as the company customized the layout specifically for the ritzy Southern California location rather than reflecting a more generic, hotel chain look.
"The hotel was built in the mid-1970s and expanded in the mid-1980s. It still looked like the mid-1970s definition of 'quality.' But things change," says Bob Shorb, vice-president of development at Host Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Newport Marriott Hotel & Spa (operated under contract by Marriott International). "There's a lot of demand among business and leisure travelers for amenities such as spas today."
It seems unlikely that today's ultra-high-end amenities such as helipads will catch on beyond the luxury hotel category. But hoteliers of all stripes will have to watch what the world's most discerning business and leisure travelers expect, in order to further distinguish their brands and thrive in an increasingly competitive environment.
