Four Seasons London to re-open January 31

by Melanie Nayer on

The Four Seasons London Hotel at Park Lane started its multi-million dollar makeover back in May 2010 and we’ve been waiting with baited breath for the big unveil. Now comes word from the hotel’s Twitter stream that the official opening is slated for Jan. 31, 2011.

The Four Seasons London hotel will have 192 rooms including 45 suites, all with king, queen or twin beds. Some rooms will offer fireplaces and garden terraces.

The hotel’s restaurant and bar area is Amaranto, which services Italian cuisine throughout the day with al fresco dining options in the private garden overlooking Park Lane. At night, the Menù dello Chef offers a four-course set-menu option, changed daily, and an eight-course tasting menu paired with wines.

There’s a rooftop spa with nine treatment rooms, each with their own private relaxation pod. The fitness center, located next to the spa, offers state-of-the-art cardio- and weight-training equipment, all with views of Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye. The spa also includes a skylit vitality pool, steam rooms and saunas with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking London.

But our favorite part of the new hotel: The Vogue wall. The hotel’s corridor includes photographs from Vogue, a nod to the elegance and style of London.

Five perks at Tokyo’s business hotel for the dead

by Tom Johansmeyer on

There’s a hot new hotel in Tokyo, and everyone’s dying to get in. You have to meet specific criteria to stay at this place … and if you can ask for a reservation, you won’t get one. Simply put, the living aren’t welcome. LISS Center Shin-Kiba calls itself a “business hotel for the dead,” a spot where corpses can wait until funerals are arranged.

So, what makes this hotel so special?

1. Obviously, it’s only for bodies, not the sentient. So, it’s awfully quet.

2. It’s a pretty exclusive spot, too – only 37 “guests” can be accommodated.

3. Bar codes keep everything in order … no need to worry about wandering into the wrong room!

4. You can pay by the hour … well, by the 12-hour block: rates start at 3,675 yen for half a day. For a funeral room, you’ll drop 2,100 yen an hour.

5. You get elbow room while planning to get rid of the body for good. Says Nokai Matsushima of LISS Sytem, “We want the families to have time to think, so they can decide on a satisfactory ceremony while their deceased relatives have a place to rest (temporarily) at our ‘business hotel.'”

[photo by pakrus via Flickr]

Terrorist threat goes after veggies in hotels

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Should you really eat your vegetables? It’s a fair question, according to the latest from CBS News. The latest terrorist threat, it seems, is to poison food in hotels and restaurants at several locations in a coordinated, single-weekend attack. The threat has been called “credible,” according to CBS News’ sources, and the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture and the FDA have been talking to hotels and restaurants about it.

The people involved are believed to be involved with the same guys who tried to bomb cargo planes back in October – al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Ricin and cyanide are said to have been the poisons of choice.

CBS News continues:

On Monday Dept. of Homeland Security spokesman Sean Smith said, “We are not going to comment on reports of specific terrorist planning. However, the counterterrorism and homeland security communities have engaged in extensive efforts for many years to guard against all types of terrorist attacks, including unconventional attacks using chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials. Indeed, Al-Qa’ida has publicly stated its intention to try to carry out unconventional attacks for well over a decade, and AQAP propaganda in the past year has made similar reference.

So, there appear to be two alternatives: (1) eat steak and stay safe and (2) eat vegetables or the terrorists win. Frankly, I think broccoli rocks, and I’m not giving it up.

CBS notes: “The fact remains the government and hospitality industries are on alert.”

[photo by ilovebutter via Flickr]

Hotels gearing up for battle over the business traveler’s wallet

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Now that business travelers are coming back into the travel market, everyone can’t stop talking about it. Of course, this is great news for airlines and hotels, as business travelers tend to spend more time on the road, have more financial flexibility and are willing to pay more for exactly the flights and locations they need. The occasional leisure traveler who hunts around for bargains, quite simply, doesn’t have the big cash.

So, it comes as no surprise at all that hotels are getting ready to welcome the business travelers back into the fold. It’s been lonely without these guys for the past two years, I suspect, especially with the budgets they command. And make no mistake about it: though they aren’t actually paying the tab, road warriors do have at least some choice in which hotels and airlines they choose.

Think about a frequent business traveler who spends three nights a week in hotel rooms for 40 weeks a year (it’s not as rare as you think). That’s 120 room-nights. At $200 a night (not unusual for business-friendly hotels in big cities), you’re looking at $24,000 per business traveler per year. That’s a hell of a lot more than a leisure traveler who spends nine nights a year in a hotel and is more price conscious … which could yield less than 10 percent of what one frequent business traveler brings to the table.

What do business travelers want? Obviously, a lot.Last month, I wrote about the findings of a recent Deloitte survey, which found that road warriors (such as those employed by Deloitte itself) want a lot more than a clean room. Work-friendly conditions, in fact, are at the top of the list. The memory of this from my white-collar travel days has not escaped me. I remember setting up my “office” in the room immediately after check-in, and that’s where I spent most of my in-room time during each stay (with crazy business schedules, the bed doesn’t get much use).

According to an article on MSNBC, I’m not alone. For example:

“I try to replicate what’s in my office” said Denis Lacerda, a partner for Rafael Cennamo, a fashion house, who commutes regularly between São Paulo, New York and Miami. Lacerda is currently a guest at the AKA Central Park, an extended-stay hotel that he says provides everything from office supplies and a printer/fax/copy machine to high-speed Internet and access to business TV channels. “All the important things you don’t think about but need to have,” he said.

Why is this so important? Well, back in my consulting days, it wasn’t unusual to put in an 80- or 90-hour work week, much of it coming on the road. You need to know you’ll be comfortable (to the extent possible) while pushing through an insane workload. We’re looking for all kinds of stuff – that hotels are adding – including “bigger desks, better lighting, more outlets and ergonomically correct chairs.”

The eagerness to please business travelers has risen to incredible levels, MSNBC continues:

“It’s a little bit of an arms race,” said Jan Freitag, vice president of global development for STR, a hotel research company. He compares it to when Westin’s “Heavenly Bed” was introduced. “People laughed,” he said, “but there was buzz. Everybody wanted them. Suddenly, it was ‘the Bed Wars.’ “

The needs of business travelers have been exacerbated by technology advancements. With the ubiquity of high-speed internet access and mobile devices, the workday doesn’t end shortly after the sun sets … and in some cases, it can last until shortly before it rises. MSNBC adds:

“With the Internet, e-mail, and cell phone, communication never stops,” said Bruce Ross, chief executive of Celebrity Fashion Group, a private label merchandising company. “You’ve got to work twice as hard today.”

In many cases, the in-room conveniences that this class of traveler wants is a tool in helping them to survive the quickening pace of business rather than merely stay in front of it.

Hotels, hungry for additional revenue and the lower sales costs associated with repeat guests, are investing in improving the business traveler experience, as it will be a critical factor in which brand takes the lead in the coming travel market recovery. The road warrior is coming back, and the hotels are waiting.

So, business travelers, what do you like in a hotel room? Leave a comment below to let us know!

Exclusive Insight: Why hotels lost ground online

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Yesterday, you probably saw that hotels are getting hit pretty hard by online travel agencies, as customers have been hunting for deals aggressively. The latest data from PhoCusWright puts branded hotel websites at 54 percent of the online channel, down from 59 percent two years ago. And a few weeks ago, we took a look at the competition between online travel agent and airline brands as we head into a travel market recovery.

Well, it looks like hotels are going to stage a similar comeback as the economy improves.

I reached out to Douglas Quinby, Senior Director, Research, at PhoCusWright yesterday to find out a bit more about the supplier/online travel agent dynamic in the hotel space.

Quinby wrote to me by email, “The interesting thing about this shift away from branded hotel websites to OTAs over the course of the recession – and this has happened with airline sites too – is not that hotel brands are not important, but that those travelers who care most about hotel brands, the frequent leisure and business travelers and true brand loyalists, were the ones that pulled back the most.”Essentially, hotels’ best customers started to stray, as cost became increasingly important given prevailing economic conditions. It isn’t surprising, of course: when you have fewer dollars, each comes with greater gravity.

Quinby continued, “When money is tight, price becomes more important, and the OTAs have deftly outflanked the recession by focusing on that infrequent leisure travel and what they care about most: deals!”

As business travelers come back into the market, it seems, the share of total travel spending going to the suppliers will again increase, as corporate travel budgets get a little looser and those making the buying decisions get a bit more freedom again. Quinby notes that this goes for frequent leisure travelers as well, with both categories leading to “improving performance in supplier websites.”

There’s no doubt that online travel agencies will need to increase their brand investments to compete effectively with hotel suppliers in 2011. Let the games begin!

So, how do you book hotels: with a branded hotel website or an online travel agent? Leave a comment to let us know!