8.3.2019 TTG Show Daily ITB Berlin 20
Report: Hotel chains
New lifestyle in making
Lifestyle hotel brands are an emerging trend in Asia’s hospitality sector, as hospitality operators big and small
and even players from outside the field roll out new brands to accommodate the changing preferences of mil-
lennials and Gen Z. Xinyi Liang-Pholsena checks in on the new trend
From left: Muji Hotel Beijing’s book lounge;
a room in Hotel Koe
T
he rise of a millennial genera-
tion and Airbnb have unleashed
many changes in the global hos-
pitality sector, with hospitality
players recognising the need to offer more
than just a hotel room but a lifestyle expe-
rience for today’s travellers.
Enter lifestyle hotels, a trend that is
gaining popularity among global travel-
lers and the hospitality sector alike, with
most major hotel companies having
jumped onto the bandwagon to launch
new brands that are ostensibly targeted at
the millennial demographic.
A CBRE report defines a lifestyle hotel
as one that has many of the characteris-
tics of a boutique hotel, with a strong em-
phasis on being creative and innovative,
in addition to having the potential to be
replicated and rolled out across the globe.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ W Ho-
tels was widely accepted among industry
practitioners as the first mainstream life-
style hotel when the brand was launched
in New York in 1998. Similar brands and
concepts have since popped up in the US
and Europe, and Asia is now beginning
to see the proliferation of lifestyle hotel
brands too.
“Most international hotel operators
have started rolling out their lifestyle
concepts in a significant way”, said Sashi
Rajan, senior vice president - strategic ad-
visory and asset management, Asia at JLL
Hotels & Hospitality Group, attracted by
Asia’s large millennial base which are ex-
pected to make up a strong potential mar-
ket for lifestyle hotels.
Marriott’s Aloft, Hyatt’s Andaz and In-
terContinental Hotels Group’s Indigo are
clear examples of hospitality giants’ foray
into Asia’s lifestyle hotel space, noted Ra-
jan, while international boutique brands
like The Standard, SBE, Dream Hotels and
ACE have either expanded or announced
their intentions to venture into the region.
What comes after W
But lifestyle hotels are not an entirely new
phenomenon for Asia, industry watchers
pointed out.
“You can call it LAW or Life after W,”
Bill Barnett, founder and managing di-
rector of Phuket-based C9 Hotelworks
said. “W was a game changer, but in Asia
groups here already know hospitality so
the development of groups like Alila, Up-
per House, etc, have cut the institutional
mold,” opined Barnett.
“In Thailand, 137 Pillars, Sala and
Burasari are all expanding their non-
standardised approach to good success.
Indonesia is another exciting space – Ar-
totel is one and Potato Head with Katama-
ma and other new offerings in the works.”
Barnett added: “Design and lifestyle
hotels are now across most Asian mar-
kets and strong performers but it’s not so
much a standalone trend but a reflection
of changes in travel taste. Be it in technol-
ogy, design, food, fashion or social media,
it’s now about getting out of the box.”
Major hospitality companies in Thai-
land have also joined the lifestyle fray.
Onyx Hospitality Group entered into a
partnership with UK-based Yoo Hotels &
Resorts to grow its footprint into the life-
style hotels segment, with the first two Yoo
Asia hotels expected to open in Phuket
and Bali in 2019.
Dusit International has unveiled Asai,
its “millennial minded” brand which has
already found management contracts
inked for properties in Bangkok, Cebu
and Yangon.
Singapore has been a hotbed of activity
for lifestyle hotel brands in recent years,
including M Social, whose eclectic and
playful style was the brainchild of famed
designer Philippe Starck; and Yotel, a cap-
sule-style hotel which appeals to tech and
design fans with its guest service robots
and futuristic Tron-like aesthetics.
Coming up next in mid-2020 will be
The Clan – a 324-room property target-
ing millennials and tech-savvy travellers
– which is touted as Far East Hospitality’s
(FEH) answer to the “new demand for
hotels that offer an optimal combination
of value for money, quality hospitality ser-
vice, stylish design, and a strong sense of
place”, said Arthur Kiong, CEO of FEH.
“Guests will be treated like a member of
an exclusive club that is reflected through
the hotel’s highly customised services.
These include special privileges at popu-
lar lifestyle establishments, staff members
recognising guests by names and be-
ing served traditional Chinese tea upon
check-in,” described Kiong.
Non-sector players make a beeline
Even non-traditional players are foray-
ing into the lifestyle hotel segment, with
notable examples being Japanese lifestyle
giant Muji extending its minimalist life-
style ethos to its hotel ventures in Japan
and China, and toymaker Hasbro’s plans
to launch a Monopoly-themed hotel in
Kuala Lumpur (see sidebar below).
Another Japanese retail brand, Koe,
has launched its flagship store-and-hotel
complex in Tokyo’s Shibuya district in
February 2018 to bring “stay, fashion, mu-
sic and food” together, Naomi Shinonaga,
the brand’s creative director, shared.
Its “new basic for new culture” philoso-
phy is also reflected in the hotel decor,
which abstains from the use of leather,
fur or other materials from real animals.
Rooms, like Koe clothing, are divided into
four sizes – S, M, L and XL.
Meanwhile, Macau is the staging
ground for acclaimed fashion designers to
showcase their forays into lifestyle hotels.
Legendary late designer Karl Lager-
feld’s creative and modern take on mixing
Sino-Western styles will be demonstrated
in every single detail of the first-ever Karl
Lagerfeld Hotel, creating a completely
new definition of east-meets-west luxury
while echoing Grand Lisboa Palace’s de-
sign theme.
The Palazzo Versace Macau, under the
creative direction of the renowned design-
er Donatella Versace, will feature classical
style interiors, such as traditional mosaic
and terrazzo flooring, with all furnishings
and amenities supplied by or following
Versace’s stylistic and artistic direction.
Singapore may also soon be home to
a development tagged to nightlife brand
Zouk. Andrew Li, CEO, Zouk Group, re-
vealed to TTG Asia that the group is “ex-
ploring opportunities that will hopefully
come into fruition within 2019”.
He shared: “Since the acquisition (by
Genting), the focus for us is to grow Zouk
beyond the realm of nightlife, expanding
its offerings into the lifestyle realm. The
primary audience we are targeting is the
millennials. We see Zouk’s move into life-
style as a natural progression of growing
the brand by expanding to different verti-
cals, such as F&B, merchandise and more
to come. This fits into Genting Hong
Kong’s vision of cultivating holistic life-
style spaces for millennials to wine, dine
and play.”
Hotel analysts expect such cross-over
brands to proliferate and bloom.
Barnett commented: “Owning the cus-
tomer is key, as you can see from Accor’s
investment into other brands they want to
be in front of consumers’ faces at all time,
or Sansiri’s investments in The Standard
Hotels and Monocle magazine, and (for)
JustCo co-working (scaling) the vertical is
key.”
Rajan added: “We are seeing several
bold entrants who believe they can in-
novate and further disrupt the already
disrupted traditional hotel experience.
We have seen restauranteurs go into ho-
tels like Nobu, fashion accessory specialist
Shinola opening their first hotel and more
recently AliBaba with FlyZoo (embracing
AI technology in collaboration with Mar-
riott International).
“Travellers today are always on the
lookout for something different so I be-
lieve there’s enough room for everyone to
make their mark. To stand out however,
lifestyle hotels have to ensure that they
have clear brand identity, service differ-
entiator and value proposition in their
micro-market,” he summarised. – Ad-
ditional reporting from Pamela Chow,
Julian Ryall and Prudence Lui