HotelsMag May 2017 | Page 18

TRENDING
A rendering of Element ' s communal area

ALL together NOW

The communal living trend is heading into extended-stay . Marriott International said in January that its Element brand would test a communal concept that clustesr four bedrooms around a living area with couches , a dining table and kitchenette .
The design shrinks the size of the guest rooms connected to the communal area , says Toni Stoekl , Marriott ’ s global brand leader of lifestyle brands . And while it was conceived with business associates in mind , positive feedback has come from leisure travelers – think families in town for a reunion .
The brand , with more than 20 hotels open and over 70 in the pipeline , expects to announce the first project incorporating the design at the end of corridors within a few months , probably in the U . S .
Three of the four rooms open to a corridor ; only one opens into the communal space , which allows flexibility when occupancy is high and doesn ’ t force strangers to hang out with each other .
Do hotels compromise on revenue with special-use spaces ? Not necessarily , says Tom Sprinkle , principal at HKS Hospitality Group . “ Groups traveling together who are interested in having a shared space would likely pay a premium for it .”
Design is key : “ The FF & E components are really important ,” Sprinkle says . “ It shouldn ’ t feel like it ’ s an afterthought or simply a different configuration of the guestroom , or a place to get work done with a table , lamp and a couple of chairs thrown in . Everyone will retreat to the lobby if the room isn ’ t special enough to want to hang out . It should be comfortable yet functional , set up to accommodate meal catering or cooking or a group of work colleagues who want to spread out their stuff .”

BRICKS IN THE WALL

“ Words matter , and the words that have been said so far have created damage ,” says Alex Zozaya , CEO of Newtown , Pennsylvaniabased-Apple Leisure Group .
He ’ s talking about
the statements U . S . President Donald Trump has made about some Mexican immigrants and Mexico , where Trump wants to build a wall .
Potential visitors to Mexico , and those considering traveling outside the U . S . for the first time , could be influenced by those comments , says Zozaya ,
whose customer base focuses on Mexico , the Caribbean and the U . S . “ With the travel ban and the position on nationalism and closing borders , with the effect that that has on travel , of course that is concerning .”
He adds , “ The biggest concern we have is that a certain part of the population right now in the U . S . could start perceiving Mexico as part of an
axis of evil , a place unfriendly to visit .”
At this point , Zozaya has seen people reconsidering travel plans but no outright cancelations . However , with organizations like the World Travel and Tourism Council predicting slower growth in the U . S . travel and tourism sector this year , mostly due to the stronger dollar , anything that inconveniences travelers will
have an effect , he says . In 2015 , after Trump ’ s comments about some Mexican immigrants being criminals , Zozaya removed Trump Organization hotels from Apple ’ s distribution network . “ We ’ re not hoping for ( Trump ) to fail ,” Zozaya says , “ but that doesn ’ t mean that we are going to just accept some of the crazy stuff that comes out of his Twitter .”
14 hotelsmag . com May 2017