PATRICK PHALKE
VICE PRESIDENT, COMMERCIAL, PROPER HOSPITALITY
will be speaking on the panel
Partnerships – Expand your Narrative:
Building a network using like-minded
partners. Patrick told us that collaborations
with relevant brands are extremely important
to luxury hotels. “Creative partnerships create
dimension to a luxury experience and elevate the
guest’s perceived value of their hotel experience.
They also help to build a cultural identity to your
brand, through each partner’s cultural outreach.
Additionally, the curation of partnerships and their
followers will also help to create the right “social
scene” on property.
“Hotel companies are not in a position anymore
to say that they are experts in every aspect
of hospitality, like F&B, wellness, design,
programming… Luxury hotel brands nowadays
need to be smart to team up with best-in-class,
like-minded partners that help them deliver their
own brand promise. Back in the days, perhaps
20 years ago, in many parts of the world, it
was the larger hotel brands who were the big
innovators in F&B concepts, for example. Now,
hotels are looking more and more to partner with
independent chefs/restaurateurs who are more
recognized for innovation and great local food
experiences.”
Patrick mentioned their partnership with Surya SPA,
a very local Ayurvedic SPA/wellness center, located
in a residential home in Brentwood/LA. “They
are a 100% local enterprise with a mostly A-List
celebrity clientele. We are partnering with them
at Santa Monica Proper. Through our partnership,
we convinced them to relocate their SPA to our
property and now we are the first hotel in California
that offers holistic Ayurvedic wellness, ranging from
90 minutes to 3-week treatments. This means that
guests do not need to travel all the way to South
India anymore to go on an Ayurvedic wellness
retreat, they can do this in the comforts of Santa
Monica. At Surya SPA, our guests
will be consulted by an Ayurvedic
Doctor who willfully analyze their
entire lifestyle first, and then
develop a customized program for
each guest to guide them on how
to live a better, healthier and more
fulfilled life. These treatments will
be fully accompanied by healthy
cuisine, provided by our culinary
team on property.”
On how Proper Hotels connects
with their guest on social media,
Patrick told us that while their
static Instagram page stays aligned
with Proper brand standards,
communicating each of the
property’s overall aesthetic and
vibe, their stories allow for flexible
and instantaneous communication
of what’s happening on property. Santa Monica
Proper, for example, uses stories to tell guests about
live music sets in the outlets, wellness activations,
art, and culinary activities, while San Francisco
Proper tells guests about events and community
partnerships, such as when the Pride Parade came
through and what the hotel’s involvement was in the
event.
“Another massively important connection point,”
added Patrick, is having someone continuously
available to answer all questions that come through
on all social channels, allowing for direct connection/
communication with our guests, providing
information and even event sales.”
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