Report says lifestyle hotels are raising the bar
Lifestyle hotels are continuing to raise the bar for the industry through differentiation, innovation and value-for-money, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
In its fourth ‘European Lifestyle Hotel Survey’, the firm reports that the budget end saw the most action in terms of new names and new ideas.
Liz Hall, head of hospitality research PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said: “While many larger hotel chains continue to try to emulate lifestyle hotels’ distinctive offer, we found that the real action in terms of innovation and value for money is still being driven by the smaller operators, particularly in the new, up-and-coming branded budget lifestyle segment.
“The top 25 hotels in our European survey saw a 5.9% increase in room capacity compared to a year ago and now account for 11,386 rooms.
“We also analysed the performance of 60 UK lifestyle hotels that
total over 4,000 rooms. This analysis showed that the UK lifestyle sector is still more volatile than the rest of the hotel industry but should experience good RevPAR growth of 7 % this year, 4.1% in 2007 and 4.8% in 2008.”
Sharon Stotts, director performance improvement consulting, added: “What we are seeing is a revolution where the consumers will soon overtake businesses in demanding what they want, when they want it, in a way they want it.
“The challenge for hoteliers is to develop business models that
are flexible enough to deal with the technologically-driven consumer while also focusing on new revenue-streams.
“A customer’s pre-trip experience is even more important in developing hotel experience; and technology is being used to track customers’ preferences before, during and after a visit.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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