two arms of the company : management of five Standard hotels , as well as the investment in another left-of-center hotel platform from Austin , Texas , Bunkhouse Hotels .
NOT ANY APP What started as an initial task to create both digital and offline programs to increase revenue streams in a way that was led by the
Screen shot of the One Night app
culture of the Standard brand has taken the company in an unexpected direction – boot strapping a distribution company with roots in an app dreamed up by Suh to drive bookings after 3 p . m . each day .
The One Night app , which was created after the One Night Standard app drove US $ 3 million in rooms revenue ( representing a 3 % RevPAR increase ) to the managed hotels within 12 months of launch , truly proved to Suh and his colleagues there is absolutely no one path to achieving revenue success .
Following the lead of a cheeky question perfectly in keeping with the Standard brand essence , “ What would you do if you only had one night out ?”, Suh and his team on the cheap launched the One Night Standard app in April 2015 that offers daily distressed inventory at a discount starting at 3 p . m .
“ We wanted to have a very focused vision and a value proposition of what the app had to offer ,” Suh recalls , adding that he found focus based on a story from Standard brand founder Andre Balazs about how the Standard High Line in New York City often stood for ‘ a late night raid on the night ’ topped off by an overnight stay .
“ We replicated that mindset and put it into a channel to execute the philosophical approach of people coming out , enjoying the night and making it a night ’ s adventure ,” Suh adds . “ The One Night Standard and the One Night mindset is ‘ if you only had one night , what would you do ?’”
“ Human beings love stories – from the caveman sitting around the fire to the Oscar movies ,” offers The Leading Hotels of the World CEO Ted Teng .
“ JIMMY IS NOT A KNOWLEDGE- BASED HOTELIER , ALTHOUGH HE HAS PLENTY OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE INDUSTRY AND BUSINESSES , IN GENERAL . HE IS A DISCOVERY DRIVEN HOTELIER . HE HAS AN INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR CREATING . HE WANTS TO DO NEW THING . HE WANTS TO DO THINGS THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE . IN AN INDUSTRY WHERE COMPETITION IS ABOUT HOW TO BE MORE LIKE THE COMPETITORS , JIMMY TAKES THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED .”
– TED TENG , THE LEADING HOTELS OF THE WORLD
“ We love to be intrigued and let storytellers take our imaginations to places we have never been . Jimmy has the passion for the stories . He is present to the stories . He stands for the stories . He is the story . He is not just reciting the stories , he is creating the stories .”
Now about two years in , Suh says the One Night Standard has not cannibalized web-direct or loyalist business and the majority of the guests , over 80 %, are indeed new customers and often locally driven . And the icing on the cake : it also drove US $ 12 in higher ancillary revenue ( F & B and the like ) than the typical OTA guest .
With little paid marketing effort after the initial 12 months , the app continues to perform at the same level and continues to show some additional revenue growth , according to Suh . “ It ’ s our way of saying the whole world is getting far more confident in the transparency and information that ’ s at their disposal on their phone ,” Suh says . “ We just thought that One Night Standard captured the essence of how people are living and traveling these days .”
One Night Standard also caught the attention of competitors who came knocking , asking Suh to white label a knock-off . Of course , Standard initially said , “ no ,” but after some reconsideration realized an opportunity existed . Enter the companion One Night app , which launched in September 2016 with Standard International curating about a dozen likeminded hotels in New York and Los Angeles – again offering bookings starting at 3 p . m .
Within a few months of the launch , the new One Night app added Austin , Texas , and Miami , and just recently brought San Francisco hotels online . By the end of this year , Suh expects One Night to represent independents in 15-plus major cities , adding that its success is also expected to lead to the launch of an even more innovative platform early next year .
“ This is another form of putting a consortium into the marketplace and capitalizing on one of the biggest trends that we have today , which is short-term bookings or same day bookings ,” Suh says .
His big takeaway from his Standard experiences , Suh says , is to always remain curious and always think outside of the industry for learning platforms . “ And don ’ t get too bogged down with what ’ s immediately in front of you .”
April 2017 hotelsmag . com 41