Unique luxury hotels, fashionable travel and much more

What started out as a novel way to attract single female travellers and groups of ladies has turned into a legal nightmare for a boutique hotel in Denmark. The Bella Sky Hotel in Copenhagen opened last year as Europe’s largest design hotel. It reserved one floor specifically for women and added extra feminine touches such as makeup mirrors and glossy magazines to make their female guests feel more pampered.

Unfortunately Denmark’s Equal Treatment Board ruled that the initiative was illegal. The hotel is currently refusing to comply with the ruling, stating “the only man who can access this floor will be a fireman in the case of fire”.

The Dukes Hotel, a five star London boutique hotel has also decided to woo women guests and has assigned some of its rooms as “Duchess Rooms”. These rooms are serviced solely by women staff and have added extras such as fresh flowers, styling accessories and female bathroom amenities. They are proving very popular with their upmarket female clientele, but may prove to be less than popular with the European Commission on Gender Equality.

by Gillian

As airlines tighten up on luggage excess and begin to charge per bag, guests are really appreciative of the new service at Westin luxury hotels and resorts. They have begun a rental service of New Balance sneakers and workout clothing to save guests having to pack bulky items. Sneakers are provided with brand new sports socks and replacement inner soles, and sports shirts are washed between workouts.
Fairmont Hotels are also addressing the idea and offer Adidas gear free to elite members of its loyalty program, or $10 per stay for all other guests.

The idea of guests carrying less luggage seems to have snowballed, as the Four Seasons Chicago is one of several luxury hotels to provide a storage service for repeat guests, charging only for laundering and pressing. This new service is certainly one way to guarantee customer loyalty from returning guests.

The Trump SoHo in New York also appreciates the need to assist with guest’s wardrobe dilemmas and uses the valet company Garde Robe to store guest’s garments between visits. All these services are sure to eliminate the difficulty of traveling with bulky suitcases, as well as saving on excess luggage fees.

The Hampton Inn and Suites at Wesley Chapel, Florida also sympathises with guests getting hit with excess baggage charges. They have installed a luggage scale in the lobby and provide postal boxes for shipping excess items home to minimise airport charges. It seems that travelling light is the new way to go.

by Gillian

As airlines cut back on VIP services, luxury hotels are stepping in to fill the gap by offering new airport services to their valued guests. One of the first luxury hotels to see the need for a resident airport concierge was the Peninsula Beverly Hills. They now employ a team of five staff to meet guests at Los Angeles International Airport and help departing guests by securing better seats or helping with minor emergencies. The airport concierge service is free on arrival but departing guests are charged $100 per family for speeding them through security and giving them access to private airport lounges.

Luxury hotels in Jamaica, including the Island Outpost Hotel and Round Hill Hotel and Villas offer a similar Club Mobay service at Montego Bay Airport. For $30, departing guests can enjoy speedy processing through security and immigration and can relax in the private hotel lounge with Wi-Fi internet access, a mini-spa and a kid’s corner. The Four Seasons Marrakesh goes one better and whisks its guests out of the line at immigration to a VIP lounge where their passports are checked in comfort. Guests are catching on and are choosing to stay in luxury hotels which offer these valued extras.

As in-flight food becomes an optional extra, luxury hotels are also offering meals-to-go. The Jefferson in Washington D.C., the Four Seasons Seattle and the Montage Deer Valley in Park City, Utah are all offering delicious lunch boxes for passengers to enjoy in the airport lounge or onboard. Treats include sandwiches made with Creminelli salami, homemade granola bars and honey pops made by the hotel’s resident beekeeper!

by Gillian

With occupancy levels at around 70% in luxury hotels in California, many are now encouraging guests looking for extended stays to fill rooms. Historically, luxury chains such as Rosewood Hotels and Resorts shied away from encouraging long-term guests but now they are welcomed with open arms as business has yet to return to pre-recession levels.

The Surrey Hotel and Spa in New York added kitchens to its suites during a recent upgrade and has seen long-term stays increase by 50% year-on-year. There are many reasons guests are choosing to stay long-term in luxury hotels. Employees working on projects away from home, recent divorcees, those visiting a city for medical treatment or people finding themselves homeless after a disaster such as flooding are all likely to prefer a luxury hotel over a short-term rental. Relocating families unable to sell their home and those choosing to renovate rather than move up are also likely long-stay guests.

Although visitors staying more than 30 days may negotiate high discounts, they are likely to spend more on additional services, such as butler service, room service, dining and laundry, which all help keep staff gainfully employed. The Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park, California added five villas in its grounds to accommodate long-term guests and it is certainly paying off. The Rosewood Crescent Hotel in Dallas accommodates long-stay guests by providing extra clothing racks and the Mansion on Peachtree, a Rosewood Hotel in Atlanta, is happy to hang guest’s artworks in their rooms.

One long-term guest finds staying at the Pelican Hill in Newport Beach extremely convenient. If he has had too many cocktails, he calls the concierge and requests a pickup in the hotel’s staff-driven Escalade. Pelican Hill struggled after opening in the depths of the economic downturn and has survived by offering discounts for stays over a month. Rooms regularly priced at $745 are $263 a night although turn-down and butler service are extra.

by Gillian

Once upon a time a 90-minute massage or day at the spa was the norm. Now less is more. Many luxury hotel spas have introduced new express services of 30 minutes or less and have found they are extremely popular with guests.

Business travelers generally find that time is a precious commodity, yet being away from home, working long hours and dealing with stressful meetings means they are more in need than ever of relaxation and a massage. Smart city center hotels are seeing the potential to serve stressed and time-pressed guests with speedy treatments.

According to the International SPA Association, about 75% of spas surveyed say they now offer express treatments of 30 minutes or less and the demand has skyrocketed. Another reason why the shorter treatments are popular could be the lower cost, with many business travelers and spa-goers watching their budget. Also, many business guests do not want to book a service ahead of time and shorter appointments mean more people can be accommodated on demand at peak times.

Studies show that even a 15-minute massage can reduce tension headaches, anxiety and stress making these express services well worth the modest cost. Of course, Virgin passengers with first class tickets can enjoy a 15-minute treatment free when passing through Heathrow Airport.

by Gillian

One of the expected services offered by luxury hotels is the concierge and it has become a recognized profession. Les Clefs d’Or, which means Golden Keys, has over 3,000 professional concierge members, all with proven track records of making the impossible happen.

Some in the travel industry predicted that with the prolific information available on the Internet at our fingertips, a concierge would soon be a relic of the past, but apparently not so. President of the US branch of the Clef d’Or, Jeanne Mills, sees their role as more essential than ever. “Guests are seeking the guidance of concierges now to help them filter the barrage of information and to seek personal insight.”

Claudette Breve, concierge at the Ritz Carlton in New Orleans has no fear of being replaced by an Internet search engine. “Does a computer have a personality and charm or hands-on experience? I’d say no. Can a computer get you courtside seats for playoffs or a front-row seat at a sold-out concert? That’s the difference between a computer and a concierge“, she comments.

Although many of the questions she faces on a daily basis are mundane, such as “How do I take the streetcar?” or explaining the difference between Cajun and Creole cuisine, her skills are truly honed when challenged to provide the impossible.

“If it’s not illegal or immoral, we’ll do it,” said Rudy Rasmussen, concierge at the Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans. He cites many misconceptions about the role of a concierge. “We’re approachable, and we’re not snobs!” he says as he tries to let guests know that he is available to do more than just hand out maps and make reservations, important as those tasks are. Although many guests shy away from using the concierge fearing a large tip is required, he feels that this should never be the case. Tipping is at the guest’s discretion, in line with the magnitude of the request being made.

by Gillian

USA Today reports that luxury hotel spas in the USA are weathering the recession by being open longer hours and dropping their prices. The average price per treatment dropped significantly in 2008 when the recession first hit and has not yet recovered, according to Smith Travel Research.

Despite lower prices and tempting special offers, the report shows that in the first six months of 2012 spa treatment rooms are only used for 23% of the time they are available. This may be caused by spas having less overall business for massages, scrubs and beauty treatments, or by them being open for longer hours to accommodate guests wanting evening appointments.

Spas are filling their expensive empty spas by offering all-inclusive packages to non-residents for a set price, heavily discounting the regular price of single treatments. They often include access to the hotel pool and fitness center and may end with a glass of wine or champagne.

Other attempts to boost spa business include the use of luxury branded products by companies such as Guerlain or Elizabeth Arden. But according to spa industry expert David Stoup, the days of opulent high-end spas are over with the valuable space in luxury hotels being put to better use, a departure from past trends in the luxury hotel trade.

by Gillian

Have you ever considered how much you pay to cover other people’s dishonesty? Luxury hotels worldwide are now finding it is financially worthwhile to add miniature high-tech tags to their fluffy towels, plush bathrobes and high-thread-count sheets.

Apparently up to 20 per cent of hotel stock goes home with guests, who clearly feel that the room price includes a couple of souvenirs. Somewhere down the line the cost of that missing stock has to be paid for – by all travelers.

More and more hotels are now using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to implant a tiny chip inside duvet covers, bed sheets, bathmats and pool towels. The cost of tagging is around a dollar per tag and the items can then be monitored using inventory tracking technology. The tags are well able to stand the rigors of the washing machine, being both flexible and washable. The ultimate systems can track each item from its removal from a housekeeping closet, making both staff and guests accountable.

What was most surprising to me was that following the press release, the idea of tagging hotel items was roundly condemned by the general public, who cited that “the price [luxury hotels] charge, we deserve the towels” or one wag who joked “I never stay in a newly opened hotel. The towels are too fluffy and I can never close my suitcase!”

Hopefully the threat of micro-tags may be a sufficient deterrent to light-fingered guests so that towels and sheets stay behind when guests check out and losses are minimized.

by Gillian

An interesting new formula has been created by a travel advisory company, called TripIndex. Basically it is the travelers’ equivalent of the standard shopping basket where the price of identical goods is compared from different sources. TripIndex adds together the cost of one night in a four star luxury hotel, a large cheese pizza from a global pizza chain, a dry martini in the bar of a top-ranking hotel and a five mile taxi ride in various international cities. It looks something like this:

4*Night + Pizza + Martini + Taxi = ?

They ranged widely across the globe from Bangkok at $85.71 to Paris at $362.28.

There is no surprise in the fact that there is a wide difference between costs in an Asian city and the pinnacle of European class, Paris. However, the index was applied to cities in the U.S. which also showed almost as wide a difference. Las Vegas produced all four items for $121.30 while the same four items in New York City cost $324.38 – over $200 more!

Those looking for a good value location to host their next business conference or family reunion should look at Dallas ($173.37), New Orleans ($177.23), Atlanta ($177.34), Minneapolis ($189.69) or Orlando ($200.89).

The most expensive U.S. cities for a weekend away, besides New York, would be Boston ($301.32), Washington D.C. ($291.12), Chicago ($257.82), San Francisco ($254.69) or Honolulu ($238.78).
It certainly pays to do your homework, although hotel booking companies that specialize in luxury hotels, such as Luxique.com will always offer the best deals wherever in the world you choose to visit.

by Gillian

A recent survey by the Ypartnership/Harrison Group shows that 64% of hotel guests prefer to stay in the private ambience of small hotels and B&Bs rather than larger luxury hotels and they are prepared to pay for it.

One in eight American leisure guests currently stay in a B&B or small inn at least once a year and the figure rises to one in six in families with incomes over $125,000. These discerning travelers gave reasons for their choice as preferring the quiet, less crowded atmosphere and the unique architecture and décor of smaller establishments. In particular guests staying at high-end B&Bs appreciated the personalized service offered by the owners, home-cooked food and 56% of guests said that smaller places offered a better sense of local culture.

Two in five guests said that boutique hotels and inns were more romantic than traditional luxury hotels and 45% said they felt more pampered and special. Socializing with like-minded guests was appreciated by 39% of guests and 19% liked the pet friendly policy maintained by many smaller hotels. In terms of other factors, 92% said they had more comfortable beds, 88% looked for a freshly-made breakfast, 91% chose them for their friendly staff and 80% felt that knowledgeable innkeepers were desirable attributes. Less important was free Wi-Fi, unique architecture or the ability to reserve a specific room.

Clearly small is still considered beautiful in the hotel business and Luxique caters to all tastes with a huge choice of luxury hotels, boutique hotels and B&Bs across the globe.

by Gillian