When Yotel New York opened in June, it came armed with an innovative solution to storing luggage. CEO Gerard Greene wanted to replace a boring administrative task with technology. Enter Yobot, a robotic concierge that uses its articulated arm to pick up and store guests’ luggage in one of 117 lockers. The new system builds on the Yotel brand’s existing high-tech features, like its fully automated guest check-in/check-out at airport-style, self-service kiosks. Housed behind a
2011 Innovators: Vivek Shaiva, Executive VP and CIO, La Quinta Inns & Suites
Category: Amenities, Guest Experience, Success Stories
To get a step ahead of its competition, La Quinta Inns & Suites looked into the future and saw the solution in crisp, clear high-definition. In March, the company announced that it would make a $40 million-plus investment to install more than 50,000 Samsung flat-screen HD TVs in 383 of its corporate-owned properties. Now that the first phase of the project is finished, all remaining hotels across the chain are targeted for completion by December
In September, when Hyatt Hotels Corporation introduced Hyatt House, the rebranding of 38 Hyatt Summerfield Suites and 16 Hotel Sierra properties it acquired from LodgeWorks, it promised something different for the extended-stay market. Designing that fresh look fell to architecture and interior design firm Stonehill & Taylor, and the firm delivered with a contemporary concept. “We were looking to create a sort of contemporary vacation house,” says Mike Suomi, principal and vice president of design
2011 Innovators: Peter Frantz, President, JCF Marketing; Marketing Director, Vantage Hospitality Group
Category: Uncategorized
When Vantage Hospitality Group Inc. began in 1999, its principals were on to something innovative. Using a membership model as the basis for a new hotel franchise called Americas Best Value Inn, the new company—today, it’s the 10th largest hotel company in the world—began a journey to market a truly original way of running a brand. One of the founding partners and the man who would spearhead a marketing campaign for the new model was
With the fragmented nature of purchasing in the hospitality industry, JoAnna Abrams and her team at MindClick SGM, a firm specializing in sustainable growth management, recognized the difficulties suppliers face when trying to convey the sustainability of their products to hotels. Similarly, hoteliers face the same challenges when attempting to portray their hotels as sustainable to guests and meeting planners. With that in mind, MindClick set out to gather suppliers in the industry to create
