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Hotel Bel- Air ' s elegant freestanding table with an inspirational garden view .
Mobile has changed everything , including the size and design of the in-room desk . Less traditional than the collateral-cluttered versions of recent vintage , it now requires the functionality of a power source without being tethered to the tedium of a wall .
" People seem to work everywhere but the desk nowadays ,” says Ed Ng , principal , AB Concepts , a Hong Kong-based design firm . The majority of hotel operators his firm works with want a “ multi-function table top with all the necessary connectivity points in close proximity .”
Hilton Worldwide ’ s new Vice President of Product Management Anu Saxena admits the company is reconsidering desk design
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in its prototypes . “ The trend is to minimize FF & E in the room ,” she says , adding they are anxious to see how guests react to a smaller task chair at the new budget Tru by Hilton brand .
Conversely , in luxury suites , Champalimaud Managing Director Ed Bakos says clients want more of a great table , referencing the elegant design they spec ’ d for the recently renovated Hotel Bel-Air near Beverly Hills , California . “ There is a desire for a certain amount of horizontal space to lay out what you need ,” he says . Plugs and outlets are an issue when a table is portable , but “ it is solvable .”
“ No one has ever been brave enough to voice that we should get rid of the desk altogether ,” says Peter
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Joehnk , co-managing director of JOI-Design . “ It is still a practical place to put documents , brochures from a trade fair , handbags , a mobile phone while it ’ s charging , or just to lay out a shirt to wear the next day .” That “ horizontal storage ” doesn ’ t need to be a desk , he adds . Perhaps it ’ s just a taller , multi-functional luggage rack ?
Erin Hoover , vice president of global brand design for Starwood Hotels & Resorts ’ Westin , Sheraton and Le Méridien brands , suggests three options : a ledge and pull-up chair adjacent to the TV ; a chaise with a pull-up table ; and a great night stand at arm ’ s length .
Wherever mobile technology goes , desks will follow . – JW
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Apple Core Hotels ' Vijay Dandapani calls Airbnb a de facto hotel company .
Where there is smoke ... An independent analysis conducted by STR and released in February suggested that there is no direct correlation between Airbnb ’ s presence and hotel performance in New York City . Taking it a step further , the study stated that during strong demand nights for Airbnb units , there was no pattern of adverse effects on hotel occupancy or average daily rate .
Vijay Dandapani , president of Apple Core Hotels , vice chairman of the Hotel Association of New York City and a vocal opponent of Airbnb ’ s “ illegal hotels ,” questions the STR data . He cites research by CBRE Hotels , which noted that during a 12-month period in the U . S . that ended September 2015 , Airbnb users spent US $ 2.4 billion on lodging , more than 55 % of which was spread over five big cities .
Dandapani says the CBRE report shows that Airbnb ’ s impact on hotels is at least twofold : ADR growth will continue to be stymied and hotel construction will be curbed . It also makes the lens for development more murky as it is almost impossible to guess when new , “ active ” hosts will enter a market in response to compression , given that the development window for an Airbnb unit is mere hours .
“ In the end , the idea of attaining a level playing field is one that is simply unachievable , even if Airbnb and its many smaller cohorts end up with the regulatory framework they are seeking so long as they operate as de facto lodging facilities and not the occasional home-renter model they claim as their business model ,” Dandapani says . – JW
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14 hotelsmag . com May 2016 |