Alongside the traditional loyalty programmeHowever, there is a more personal, even more intimate way of creating a special bond between business travellers and their favourite hotels: selling by-products. Turning a customer into an ambassador, proudly displaying the brand's logo when they're out and about or at home: that's a much more rewarding way to show your loyalty than with loyalty points. Of course, there's the cosy bathrobe from a top-of-the-range establishment - for a fee! -or a bath towel or umbrella. Whether it's a question of enhancing their brand image or earning a little extra income - and why should they choose? -Travel industry players are clearly enjoying the benefits.
Most large groups no longer hesitate to turn each room into a showroom, where business travellers can 'hunt' in the decoration, beauty or bedding departments. After all, isn't it easier and more natural to try out your next bed base during a two-night trip than to simulate a micro-nap in the middle of dozens of customers in a furniture shop? Shops can also counter-attack, and diversify their activities by trying their hand at the hotel business. Maisons du Monde and Muji took the plunge four years ago, and they too are surfing on this ultimately natural link between hospitality and interior design.
It's hard to put a figure on how much this parallel business brings in to hoteliers, in terms of cash, loyalty points and, a fortiori, brand awareness. But it's clear that the trend is spreading, diversifying and renewing itself. Could it be the effect of Fashion Week - held in Paris at the beginning of July - or simply the arrival of warmer weather? Whatever the case, the announcements are multiplying, giving several hoteliers the air of fashionistas. Visit 29 Junethe Carlton Cannes unveiled its new range of swimwear. Shorts designed by British brand Orlebar Brown, whose boutique is now part of the Cannes establishment. These top-of-the-range swimming costumes are proudly displayed on the hotel's façade. According to Tom Rowntree, Vice President of Luxury Brands at IHG Hotels & Resorts, Orlebar Brown's designs "are an integral part of the Regent Hotel's discerning traveller's wardrobe. We are delighted to join forces to bring this unexpected embellishment to the guest experience and it is a joy to see the hotel immortalised in a design that celebrates many features of the Regent brand." .
In the wake of this presentation, another icon of the French hotel industry took her first steps on the catwalk. L'Molitor hotel has officially launched its own clothing collection on 3 July. This relatively small range (three T-shirts, two hoodies, a cap and a tote bag) reflects the Art Deco aesthetic of the establishment, as well as the marriage between elegance and street art, linked to the history of the building and its new vocation.
For a long time reserved for top-of-the-range hotels, this approach has now been democratised. After all, what could be more logical than for a brand "lifestyle than to support business travellers in their daily lives? Since its inception, Mama Shelter has made a speciality of offering a colourful and offbeat catalogue, in keeping with the brand's philosophy. The brand was already particularly active in the field of derived products: clothing, crockery, children's toys... and even a 'Hot' range that was as exhaustive as it was spicy! The launch of a new eyewear range with Jimmy Fairly on 4th July This is a logical extension of Mama Shelter's marketing ambitions.
This incursion by the big names in the hotel industry into the world of fashion echoes a trend in the opposite direction. A dozen years ago, haute couture tried its hand at top-of-the-range hospitality. Bulgari, Armani, Versace, Missoni: designer hotels sprang up in several business destinations, before the phenomenon ran out of steam. And yet.., LVMH has set up Cheval Blanc at the Samaritaine, and is even planning to double the stakes with a first Louis Vuitton hotel. Expected in less than five years' time, it will incorporate the eponymous brand's largest shop in the world. At the same time, the first Maison ELLE boutique hotel also opened its doors last year in Paris. Does this mean we can imagine a new gateway from the catwalks to the lobbies? After all, fashion is often all about cycles...
