PROFILE
One of Standard ’ s recent moves was a push toward a luxury version of extendedstay : The ad campaign for that program , Stowaway , reflects the company ’ s cheeky persona .
“
HOW DO WE START
THINKING OF THE EXPERIENCE OF STAYING AT A PROPERTY MORE AS A SPECTACLE ?
”
— LANDIS SMITHERS at The Standard High Line in New York for years . “ The brand has always been really good about combining elements that most other brands would kill to unlock ,” he says . “ There ’ s this quality of high energy , constant change , things always being curious and possible .”
' BIG-PICTURE OPPORTUNITY ' The Smithers of Grindr was a leader , pushing the app firmly out of preconceived notions the world had about it . In 2016 , Smithers helped coordinate a live stream , exclusive to Grindr , of the unveiling of Irish fashion designer J . W . Anderson ’ s 2016-17 line .
“ I had to take this app that was primarily known for one thing , and yet had this massive user base ” – basically a million men at any given minute , spending an average of 57 minutes on the app per day .
“ So I started thinking about it as a captive audience ,” Smithers continues . “ And then I started looking at their behavior and thinking , this truly is a channel . So what can we feed to people that will not necessarily disrupt the experience , but provide them with entertainment or information ?”
One of Smithers ’ colleagues at Grindr was Katie Dineen , who at the time was the company ' s director of events and experiences .
“ He has a rare gift for communicating his vision , getting people to sign off on his unorthodox plans , and in building engaged , empowered teams ,” Dineen says . A concept like the fashion show live stream can also be applied to hospitality , Smithers says . “ We also have a form of captive audience , we
actually have stages ,” he says . “ So how do we start thinking of the experience of staying at a property more as a spectacle ? And something that ’ s ever-changing and not predictable .”
In addition to the fashion show streaming ( which generated a million views in the moment and over a billion press hits over eight months , according to Smithers ), he also coordinated a project that tapped into a different need within Grindr ’ s community and delivered on it .
“ Gaymojis ” were a concept created under Smithers ' tenure at Grindr . The first 100 of the in-house developed gay lifestyle emojis were free ; after that , users had to pay US $ 3.99 to unlock an additional 400 .
Standard also is a company invested in its digital arm , says Smithers , who points to the launch of the One Night app , the first third-party mobile platform for independent hotels offering same-night reservations at the lowest available rates .
“ I love this company because they didn ’ t keep ( the app ) just to our properties ,” says Smithers . “ They actually thought : ‘ This is something that we can open up to the community at large .’”
“ Landis ’ mere presence at Grindr was enough to get people excited – it ’ s like he stirs the pot and turns on the heat at the same time ,” Dineen says .
Smithers has his eye set firmly on the potential at Standard .
“ I feel like a kid in a candy shop ,” he says . “ What I would like to do is start opening up to the community and looking at marketing and sales that is more about drawing people in , rather than pushing message out .”
36 hotelsmag . com April 2018