University Report: HGE401 Hotel and Guest Experience, Semester 2, 2019

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the hotel and guest experience, focusing on the rise of lifestyle hotels and the evolving consumer behaviors driving this trend. It begins with an executive summary highlighting the importance of the hotel industry and the shift from traditional comfort to unique travel experiences, driven by new generations of travelers. The report defines lifestyle hotels, differentiating them from traditional ones and exploring global consumer trends influencing their growth, such as a desire for authenticity, originality, and cultural connections. It discusses the impact of technology and social media on customer expectations. The report includes critical appraisals of lifestyle hotels, contrasting them with traditional hotels and examining the services and facilities offered by W Hotels by Marriott and EVEN Hotels by IHG. Finally, it reflects on how lifestyle hotels can deliver authentic and distinctive guest experiences to meet the needs of digital, social, and mobile customers, addressing the key learning outcomes of the assignment, including understanding professionalism, evaluating changing consumer trends, exploring culture and customer experience, analyzing poor customer experiences, and assessing strategies to improve customer experience.

Running head: HOTEL AND GUEST EXPERIENCE
Hotel and Guest Experience
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Executive Summary
Hotel industry is one of the significant sectors in the world as it is responsible for about fifty
percent of the total foreign exchange earnings from the trade and enterprises of tourism. The
level of customer satisfaction is no longer exclusively dependent on just providing high level
of quality and comfort to the customers as it was once upon a time. The focus today has been
shifted on understanding the idea of what unique characteristics actually drive the new non-
conforming generations of travellers and all these have resulted in the rise of lifestyle hotels.
This paper has elaborated on presenting a brief overview of what lifestyle hotels are and how
are they different from the traditional ones. A thorough discussion on the global consumer
behavioural trends that have provoked the rise of lifestyle movement have been provided.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction........................................................................................................................2
2. Discussion..........................................................................................................................3
2.1. What are lifestyle hotels?............................................................................................3
2.2. Global Consumer behavioural trends to provoke the rise of lifestyle movement.......4

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2.3. Critical appraisal of lifestyle hotels and how they are different from traditional
hotels 6
2.4. Two popular lifestyle hotels and what they offer........................................................7
a) W Hotels by Marriott...............................................................................................7
b) EVEN Hotels by IHG..............................................................................................8
2.5. Reflection....................................................................................................................8
3. Conclusion..........................................................................................................................8

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1. Introduction
Right from the very first “vermin-infested inns”, which provided only lodging to the
guests, the hotel industry that are regarded as one the largest industries in the world today
used to have a colourful history that is stemming from the millenniums of decades ago (Yu,
Byun & Lee, 2014). The guests never used to expect anything extra aside from shelter and
they used to bring their own amenities and food for surviving a night’s stay. However, today,
with the varied changes and advancements in different sectors, customer demands,
technology etc., the idea of hospitality too has changed completely. It is no longer limited to
providing lodging facilities to the visitors, but, is way more than that. The global hotel
industry of modern era has been marked by the rise in consumer demand that is geared
towards the desire for some unique travel experiences that are based on authenticity,
originality, cultural connections and designs.
This report shall elaborate on researching about the lifestyle hotel sector and what the
hotel brands are doing for providing some distinctive and authentic experiences to the
customers. The chosen lifestyle hotel brands that would be used to provide integrating
examples are W Hotels by Marriott and EVEN Hotels by IHG. By taking the examples of
these two lifestyle hotel brands, this report shall assess the different and extraordinary
services and facilities that make such hotels different from the rests in the eyes of the
customers and the reasons behind their popularity among them. A thorough discussion on the
global consumer behavioural trends that have provoked the rise of lifestyle movement will be
provided along with critical appraisal of how lifestyle hotels are defined and their various
characterising elements that makes them different from the traditional hotels. Finally, a
critical reflection on how lifestyle hotels can deliver authentic and distinctive guest
experience to meet the needs of the digital, social and mobile customer shall be presented in
this report.

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2. Discussion
2.1. What are lifestyle hotels?
Just like luxury or boutique hotels, lifestyle hotels are not “proper hotel category” but
they could be easily defined for some special characteristics that they hold and those
characteristics are quite similar to boutique hotels. These hotels are both unique in
characteristics and are also very distinctive in nature. The various different attributes that are
associated with the life style hotels are funky, charming, quirky and trendy. The ambience of
lifestyle hotels are eye catching for the modern travellers and is really trendy. These types of
hotels are designed for the sophisticated and globetrotter travellers (Kosar, 2014). According
to Yang and Lau (2015), “Lifestyle hotels are the next generation of boutique hotels. Driven
by the chains, they borrow the best elements of boutiques – small, intimate and modern – and
throw in advantages only a chain can offer, like loyalty perks, consistency and economies of
scale.” This is why lifestyle hotels are much more accessible and affordable than the luxury
ones.
2.2. Global Consumer behavioural trends to provoke the rise of lifestyle movement.
The term ‘consumer behaviour’ can be defined as the purchase behaviour of
customers that is done for meeting the customer needs (Oliver, 2014). It is very strongly
related with the consumption of services and products and can be defined as the method of
exchanging the service in place of money and this behaviour of customers are influenced by
many factors like the personal, cultural and social. In the contemporary world, the consumer
behaviour in the hotel and hospitality industry has changed dramatically. The global hotel
industry of modern era has been marked by the rise in consumer demand that is geared
towards the desire for some unique travel experiences that are based on authenticity,
originality, cultural connections and designs (Zervas, Proserpio & Byers, 2017). Today, the

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global consumers are becoming more hedonistic and discerning and they are highly willing to
spend their money for some memorable, enriching and authentic experiences that the hotel-
scape is changing to accommodate and respond to the needs of the new customers. Along
with the emergence of companies like Airbnb, there is a growth of fierce competition for the
hotels worldwide. With the same, increase of technology has permeated the lives of people as
the new and young generation, also known as millennials, are more interested in using
technology for doing thinks that many others have become adopted of doing manually-
checking in at the hotels, making up their bar and restaurant bills, looking up the places for
eating, playing and shopping etc. (Eastman et al., 2014). With the same time, the rise of
multi-generational travellers all around the globe have let the hoteliers to find alternative
ways for attaining guest satisfaction, positive word of mouth promotion and guest loyalty.
Today, if millennials do not get what they are looking for or if what they want is not handled
to their liking, they are likely to turn to Facebook, Zomato. Twitter, Trip Advisor etc. for
voicing their complaints (Vogel, 2014).
Zane, Irwin & Reczek (2015) too in this context have claimed that the rise of social
media, increased competition and review platforms have led the consumers of modern days to
expect only the best. As per the survey of 2018 on customer service expectations, 73% of the
total customers wilfully give a company more than a single chance to deliver good customer
service and for the other 26%, a single bad customer experience is enough to make them
switch to other brands and companies. With the same, according to the study of Kim and
Mauborgne (2014), “92% of customers would switch to a different company after just three
or less customer service mishaps.” Moreover, it is also to mention that today, the level of
customer satisfaction is no longer exclusively dependent on just providing high level of
quality and comfort to the customers as it was once upon a time. The focus today has been

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shifted on understanding the idea of what unique characteristics actually drive the new non-
conforming generations of travellers.
The lifestyle hotel brands might tick all the boxes for the millennial travellers but it is
to note that they are not the only generation that is drawn to their mix of modern design, nods
to the good Wi-Fi connections and local culture. In modern era, they have become a highly
popular choice among the travellers all over different age groups by means of combing the
high quality service and personalised touches of luxury hotels with reliability and
convenience of big hotel chains while operating at premium price point. These hotels are
slowly growing as the next significant growth sector in Australia as of the fact that the
operators look towards tapping into the next generation of the travellers and draw the
millennial back to the hotel market. According to Mon, Neuvonen and Lahteenoja (2014),
“the latest generations are becoming key drivers of the lifestyle and leisure segment, with
preferences for experiences, highly social spaces, constant connectivity and availability of
food and beverage services”. However, not only the millennial are driving the new breed of
hotels, the other subcategory of lifestyle hotels is the wellness brand that appeals to a wide
range of travellers, including the corporate sector.
2.3. Critical appraisal of lifestyle hotels and how they are different from traditional
hotels
The lifestyle niche has gained a significant momentum in the recent years and it has
evolved into a well-established hotel category. The travel industry of the 21st century has
been marked by some rising creative movement. Consumer demands are slowly gearing
towards the desire for some unique experience on the basis of design, cultural connections,
originality and authenticity. In addition to this, the definition of “luxury” is also evolving as it
is no longer solely related to the wealth and opulence as that is suggested by traditional

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connotation. Instead, it is related to stimulation of innovative and unique environment that is
enhanced by a sense of style and belongingness. As claimed by Barber (2014), lifestyle hotels
can be described as innovative as they provide more of personal experience to the guests as
compared to the other branded hotels. The luxury hotels on the other hand can be
characterised as the small and stylish hotels that provide high level of services to the guests.
The idea of lifestyle hotels has been trending since the last two decades and it has shown to
be significant in its key traits- development of the changing wants and needs of the travellers.
With the same, unlike the traditional hotels, that are present in even small towns and villages
to provide lodging facilities, the lifestyle hotels are clustered in the cities such as London,
Miami, New York etc. Very recently, about 81 lifestyle hotels have sprouted all through the
mainland of Miami, northern beaches and South Beach.
According to Fawaz (2015), the term “boutique” and “lifestyle”, which were once
used interchangeably for defining the different types of hotels have now been less frequently
articulated as substitutes. However, there are some notable differences in both. Different
studies have indicated that the aesthetics of lifestyle hotels are much more contemporary with
the unusual architecture and design and they have some high level of technology. Lifestyle
hotels offer more number of services that can be said to be ancillary and all the services focus
on the life enrichment and wellness. It is to note that social connections, creativity and
innovation are the three characteristics that a “lifestyle hotel” holds.
With more than thirty percent of the total workforce of Australia have identified that
with the creative segment that is growing remarkably each year, the upcoming generation is
slowly shifting and transforming work, communities and leisure as a whole. In the same
manner, the hospitality industry has also been besieged by an ever increase demands of the
travellers for stimulating, personalised and design led services and products. This is why the
hotels worldwide are seeking for deviating from the “traditional” concept of “Home Away

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from home” by means of adding the “lifestyle” component in it and creating an innovative
and trendy yet exclusive entourage. Fawaz (2015) too in this context have opined that,
“beyond Luxury Media, an avant-garde media company that aims to create industry-changing
marketplaces for the high-end travel market, suggests that the dominant social classes of the
past were once easily defined and segregated based on external factors such as race,
background, and wealth, whereas today’s creative class is a supple, diverse, and ever-
evolving group.” They prize originality, conformity and open-mindedness over everything.
Similarly, the level of customer satisfaction is no longer exclusively dependent on just
providing high level of quality and comfort to the customers as it was once upon a time
(Ogle, 2017). The focus today has been shifted on understanding the idea of what unique
characteristics actually drive the new non-conforming generations of travellers.
2.4. Two popular lifestyle hotels and what they offer
a) W Hotels by Marriott
It is to note that the W Hotels are considered to be iconic global lifestyle brand that
have about 47 hotels including the W-branded Residences in some of the world’s most
vibrant destinations like Bali, Barcelona etc. The influential, inspiring and innovative W
has been disrupting the scenes of hotel industry and is boldly colouring outside the lines
of luxury for above 15 years (Kim, Lee & Roehl, 2015). Some of the amenities that these
hotels provide to its customers and that make them different from the traditional hotels
are- gym, iPod Docking stations, welcoming visitors with pets, 24hour open In-Room
Dining, flat panel televisions, Mini bar, pool, lounge and lobby, Spa, business centre,
yoga place, workout place etc.
b) EVEN Hotels by IHG
EVEN Hotels fall under the wellness lifestyle hotels. It offers some holistic wellness
experience that successfully empowers the on-the-go and active traveller for maintaining

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their daily routine while on the road. These brands are the newest one of IHG. These
hotels offer their guests with best in-class fitness experience, healthier food and relaxing
spaces. It also provide facilities like gym, welcoming visitors with pets, 24hour open In-
Room Dining, Mini bar, pool, lounge and lobby, Spa, business centre, yoga place,
workout place and many things that can assure a complete wellness regime for the
visitors.
2.5. Reflection
As the lifestyle brands like W under Marriott, EVEN hotels, Aloft, Moxy, the
InterContinental Hotels Group are popping across the globe, it is found that along with the
millennials, the Baby Boomers too are making up an increasing number of guests. I have
visited W just a year ago with my parents. There I saw some large scale events and
conferences for the major corporations and I must say that there were huge number of
audiences present over there. Hence, these type of events does attract many audiences. These
brands provide a wide range of services to make their guests feel special and relaxed. We can
even find spaces of Spa, Gym, lobby, bars, playing zone and many things. So, we barely need
to go out of the hotel in search of anything apart from visiting the place. Today, wherever we
go, we search for some warm and inviting place with contrasting elements of originality and
urbanity where we can spend our time extensively. The lifestyle hotels ensure that from the
moment of our arrival and we are greeted with some sensory environments where the vibrant
lounges, novel cuisine, amplified amusement, innovative cocktails create more than just a
hotel experience. For meeting the needs of the digital, social and mobile customers like us,
Lifestyle hotels does its best. It provides free Wi-Fi to surf internet whenever we need it. We
can even play games and watch movies if we like to wherever we want. For extensive mobile
experiences, theses hotels charge nothing to make use of cell phone in any of its spaces. Also
there are several play zones where one can make the best use of their time. With the same,

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Smart televisions are installed in every rooms for the guests that too has Wi-Fi and internet
connections. With the same, right from checking in at the hotels, making up their bar and
restaurant bills, looking up the places for eating etc., all can be done online with ease. It is
really great for the modern customers like us who are highly technology driven.
3. Conclusion
Hence, from the analysis it is to conclude that the concept of lifestyle hotels has been
trending since many decades and it has shown to be prominent in its significant traits like
developing with the changing wants and needs of the travellers. Today, the global consumers
are becoming more hedonistic and discerning and they are highly willing to spend their
money for some memorable, enriching and authentic experiences that the hotel-scape is
changing to accommodate and respond to the needs of the new customers. With the same, the
rise of social media, increased competition and review platforms have led the consumers of
modern days to expect only the best. The level of customer satisfaction too is no longer
exclusively dependent on just providing high level of quality and comfort to the customers as
it was once upon a time. The focus today has been shifted on understanding the idea of what
unique characteristics actually drive the new non-conforming generations of travellers.
Lifestyle hotels have become a highly popular choice among the travellers all over different
age groups by means of combing the high quality service and personalised touches of luxury
hotels with reliability and convenience of big hotel chains while operating at premium price
point.

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