Hotels that are starting to offer experiences to grow their businesses must now learn how to differentiate them if they are to be truly effective in both attracting and retaining customers.
The trend for offering experiences ranging from walking tours to cookery classes is becoming increasingly important to the bottom line of many properties as they look to raise revenues beyond their rooms.
But differentiating and owning the experiences while offering a taste of local culture is vital in order to ensure they boost the brand and are commercially successful.
For hotel companies the challenge has grown more complicated in recent years due to their seemingly relentless desire to add more brands and segment their audience.
Hilton for example has 24 different brands operating more than 7,000 hotels around the world.
According to Lara Hernandez, SVP, Americas at Hilton, the correct experiences can further drive brand differentiation for the group.
“The way we think about that is finding opportunities to have brand differentiation so that our customers can [enjoy an] experience across the portfolio … whether that’s spa experiences or unique bar and restaurant experiences,” she said.
Keeping it Local
Hernandez adds the group also encourages its general managers and owners to use their local knowledge to arrange experiences particular to them and that will be popular with customers attracted to their brand.
As experiences outside of the room grow in importance, the challenge for hotel operators will be keeping control of the quality.
Edouard Schwob, SVP development luxury, Americas and global at Raffles and Orient Express, thinks that hotels need to keep abreast of the trend for experiences by incorporating local activities but warns you must keep control of them.
He said: “If you outsource it … then you don’t control that experience and you may not be able to really make sure that the guest is experiencing something in line with the hotel.”
Providing you maintain control of the experience, WorldHotels Chief Development Officer Gregory Habeeb said they remain popular with customers, especially if they give them the chance to give something back to the community they are visiting.
At the company’s Eden Roc Miami Beach property, guests can help out by cleaning up the beach, which has proved so popular that they have had to double the program to keep up with demand.
Habeeb added: “People can tell a story that they actually not just enjoyed a great meal but they did something sustainable and they feel good.”
Experiences for All
Schwob said with the increasing popularity of offering experiences, they have begun to develop them for all guests and have now rethought their kids clubs accordingly.
He added one of their Bali properties has a local botanist who “teaches kids about the natural wonders of the island” and which has proved popular not just with their junior demographic but also their parents who are delighted to see their children relinquish their screens and learn something about the destination.
Hernandez adds another market that is increasingly demanding experiences as part of their visit to a property is the corporate one which now looks for more than a venue with good meeting space.
“When you get together with your colleagues or when you have a meeting the expectation is that the connection is going to be deeper and wider,” she said.
As a result, hoteliers in the Hilton group are increasingly offering group activities for the market Hernandez said, adding: “It’s what we used to call team building.
“It’s on a whole new level now and in a way not that different from a kids club.”
Space Utilization
PM Hotel Group Chief Growth and Development Officer Paul Sacco agrees, adding that clever hoteliers with excellent corporate facilities are learning to use them for other activities and especially to meet the demands of the large local wedding market.
Nor is this the only way of driving revenues via the local market, Habeeb said with WorldHotels offering the local population daycation packages ranging from spa treats to renting a poolside cabana.
He added: “It helps with brand building by bringing people into the property as they may also recommend it to someone else.
“Also if you look at some of the pools, to rent the cabanas is more than the room rate so you’re taking a passive asset and you’re making it into proactive revenue.”
Schwob agreed that while offering various experiences is vital to today’s traveller, you must also keep an eye on their profitability.
He also said hoteliers should widen their searches when hiring staff if they are to keep up with the consumer demand for new and unusual experiences once they are at the property.
Schwob said: “This is very true in many of our top luxury hotels as we’ve been hiring people in the marketing department from outside of the hotel industry for the very reason that they think outside of the box.
“People who come from fashion, from PR have this mindset but also know their local market and the brands that are going to resonate with the customers.”
All those quoted in this article appeared on stage at NYU IHIF 2025, held in New York, in a session called: Return on experiences – Delivering value beyond the room.
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