For hoteliers, it”™s all about consistency, fine-tuning services and staying on top of high-tech booking trends. This, they say, can keep you at the front of the pack with a new generation of traveling and event-bound professionals.
“The professional mix in the area is definitely getting younger,” said Stephanie Summerall, director of marketing at the Delamar Greenwich Harbor hotel. “We have noticed that our age demographic has changed and it”™s continuing to change.”
Summerall said the growth of young financial firms in the area has given birth to a new generation of business executives ”“ and these people want more networking opportunities to aggressively get their names out there.
“It”™s less traditional than it was five years ago,” she said. “You hear more business being done and deals being talked over at the bar than you have for a long time.”
Summerall said she”™s also seeing a trend among senior level executives who are holding board meetings in a more casual setting, rather than the traditional, formal setup.
“A very popular alternative has been to replace the boardroom with a large suite, removing the executive armchairs and board table and replacing them with comfortable sofas, deep armchairs and coffee bars, to encourage open discussions in a more comfortable environment,” she said.
Hotels in the New York metropolitan area also have the opportunity to pick up overflow from corporate and annual-event business, especially from big events like New York Fashion Week, said Summerall.
All about the image
Mia Schipani, vice president of marketing at Hotel Zero Degrees in Stamford, says keeping a current image is important for hoteliers as event destinations.
“Where companies hold their events is a statement about a business”™s condition,” she said. “People know real business is done in Stamford, with UBS and RBS down the street. We are not a sleepy Connecticut city. To be relevant, you need to show you can live up to the big expectations of the corporate culture we have here.”
Bharat Prashad is the acting general manager of the Stamford Plaza Hotel, which is being changed over to a Crowne Plaza Hotel. He agreed being “relevant” is fundamental for hotels in Fairfield County and that will be his focus when the hotel”™s renovation is completed in the fall.
“One of our first goals will be to establish relationships and work hard to attract the corporate event interest,” said Prashad. “We have a lot of work ahead of us. We are going to be a whole new hotel.”
Gaining a foothold in the powerful but close-knit corporate community of Fairfield County is a large task when starting from scratch, he said.
Summerall said The Delamar goes “the extra step” to take advantage of corporate event opportunities. In the summer months, it utilizes the grounds and promotes shopping on Greenwich Avenue. In addition, Delamar guests travel on the hotel-owned yachts to and from Manhattan to pick up groups of guests.
“Rather than having to have them come to us we bring them here,” said Summerall. “We have some great advantages in our location, but using what is at your disposal and going the extra step that makes you stand out is the real goal.”
Avid travelers have started to turn to membership-based insider travel sources for their where-to-stay information. Sites like Rue La La and Jetsetter offer private online communities that provide members with hotel-insider access, industry knowledge and exclusive deals.
Summerall said creating working relationships with the evolving traveler-focused technologies is vital to staying relevant.
“This generation of professionals expects a lot,” said Summerall. “They know all the standard extras, having WiFi in the rooms, access to a fax machine or printer, that”™s all standard. Today”™s business professionals aren”™t easily surprised; many times it”™s the small things that put you ahead. We offer a free pressing of one garment upon arrival, an overnight bag or the access to a private car so they don”™t have to rely on cab or car services.”
When luggage is lost, she said, the hotel utilizes its open relationship with Brooks Bros. and Tumi luggage stores on Greenwich Avenue and can have custom orders filled quickly.
“For us, we were the new kid on the block a few years ago, there was some interest in what the new place was,” said Richard Friedman, general manager of the DoubleTree Hotel in Tarrytown, N.Y. “Once that goes you have to have done a good job. We stand behind our service and food and that”™s directly related to our success with repeat corporate customers and repeat events.”
Friedman said consistency is important to guests, particularly when it comes to the staff.
“If they spoke with Karen the last time they were in town for business, they”™d like to talk to her again,” said Friedman. “It”™s about being comfortable and consistent.”
Both Friedman and Summerall emphasized the importance of the food.
The culinary staff at L”™Escale, the Delamar”™s attached restaurant, which is overseen by head chef Francois Kwaku-Dongo, uses local produce and collaborates with specialty culinary purveyors from Greenwich Avenue for corporate events.
“It mixes it up and keeps the experience here fresh,” said Wendy Laurent, pastry chef at L”™Escale. “The culinary experience is central to anyone”™s impression of a hotel, whether it”™s for an event or to stay.
“The newest trends in culinary are about simplicity and focusing on single ingredients in a tried-and-true way. Many people who come here have been before (so) we like to give them something new to look forward to.”
Summerall said the proliferation of networking events in the past five years has caused many people to become weary of typical events so they look for something extra before they decide to attend. She said working directly with event planners and having a common goal of an exceptional meeting with a great turnout is extremely important.
“You can”™t be a closed environment,” she said. “We can have people come here for interactive events with physical team-building (or) we can have people do their meetings out on the water or learn to sail together.”
