Retail at luxury hotels is an overlooked
amenity. Hotels have upgraded their
spas, gyms and restaurants, but they
often ignore their retail shops. Research
shows 92% of luxury resort guests and
76% of city luxury hotel patrons purchase
something while they’re away from home.
In most cases they are not spending their
money at the hotel, but rather off-site.
Luxury hotels and resorts should capture
some of that guest spending, and they can
do so often without spending large sums
to do it.
Improving the retail experience at a hotel
generates much more than just added
revenue at the property. It improves
guest satisfaction, distinguishes the
property from its competition and leads
to greater repeat guest reservations. As
both leisure and business travelers expect
more from their hotels and resorts,
property owners and managers must
elevate retail to match the rest of the
hotel’s offerings.
Reimagining a hotel boutique is just
the first place to start. In some cases, a
redesign or renovation is in order to bring
the store into the modern age. If a hotel
is in the design stage or contemplating
a renovation, bringing in a hotel retail
expert adds a much-needed expert
voice to the team. If retail shops are
placed at the end of a long hall with no
guest traffic, they will certainly perform
poorly. However, if retail shops are
placed appropriately, designed well and
merchandized correctly, they can surprise
guests and owners alike and become an
integral part of a property.
Inexpensive tweaks to existing retail shops
can yield big returns. Improvements to
merchandising, layout, signage, lighting
and promotion all drive improved sales.
The Kornfeld Group Retail Consultants
is known for their innovative program
whereby they gather a hotel’s aggregate
guest demographic data, compile a list of
top-selling luxury retail items in the area
where the hotel is located, and blend the
two to create a tailored merchandising list
of retail items most likely to appeal to a
particular hotel or resort’s guests. That
leads to better merchandising that appeals
to their guests and actually sells. There
are very few items that should be stocked
at every upscale hotel that will actually
move off the shelves. Instituting these
changes is an inexpensive way to quickly
and inexpensively improve hotel retail
sales.
Hotel and resort operators should also
look beyond their properties and bring
to the hotel a sampling of the best
merchandise available in their community.
They should offer select items from local
luxury shops and not just advertise those
retailers in a retail window by an elevator.
Consultants can create partnerships with
local boutiques, national and international
luxury retailers and even shopping centers
to create an exciting customized shopping
experience within a hotel that brings
the best local retailers have to offer to
a property. Doing so captures guest
spending on property and can also entice
shoppers to visit a retailer to spend more
off-site when they otherwise may not
have. Customized programs like delivery
of a guest’s purchases from a shopping
center to the hotel, exclusive access
programs and creating a local shopping
guide for the concierge to provide to
guests all improve retail spending and
create a guest experience superior to your
competition.
ILHA 65