National Post (National Edition)
SUPER charged
Delta’s redesign caters to today’s über-connected business traveller
When Ken Greene, president and chief executive of Delta Hotels and Resorts, shares a hotel room with his wife and 13-yearold son, there’s generally a mad scramble for the outlets.
“All three of us need to charge our phones and my wife has an iPad and I have a computer,” he says. “Then my son has a gaming system.”
Even when you’re travelling for business and you have a room of your own, he says, you may need to charge a computer, cellphone and iPad. “And yet often there are only a couple of outlets in the room.”
Delta’s room redesign — launched in 2012 and due for completion by 2015 — will ensure that’s not the case for the home-grown chain of 40 hotels across Canada. The company’s new ModeRooms, have been carefully engineered with today’s über-connected business travellers in mind. They draw on plenty of research about what is important to business travellers in general, and Delta’s customers in particular. “We tried to create a room that would adapt to their needs, rather than expect travellers to adapt to the room,” Mr. Greene says.
As he navigates the model ModeRoom at Delta’s Toronto headquarters, Mr. Greene demonstrates: “The first thing I’m going to do is toss my keys on the shelf as we enter,” he says. “Then I hang up my coat on the hook just inside the foyer, put my suitcase on the luggage rack and plug in.” He gestures to a gleaming six-foot expanse of Caesar stone that Delta has dubbed the SmartDesk. It features five electrical outlets and a combination of audio, video and Internet connections, all mounted in a slanted console atop the desk.
Making the outlets visible is a calculated decision. “Designers tend to try to hide plugs,” Mr. Greene says. “I come in from a long day of travel or meetings and I’m down on my knees in my business suit searching for an outlet.” He’s not alone; an informal U.S. A. Today poll found the primary reason business travellers move furniture is to get access to outlets.
The connectivity dock includes all standard interfaces, so you don’t have to bring your own cables to link your laptop or mobile device to the flatscreen, high-def TV, for example. “If you want to preview a presentation, you can view it on the big screen,” says Tim Aubrey, vice-president technology and product innovation for Delta. “And you can stream movies and TV shows directly from your laptop to the TV screen.”
That means a lost profit centre for Delta, since guests no longer pay-perview for movies and shows, but “we had very low usage anyway,” Mr. Aubrey says. “People aren’t willing to pay for content they can access online.”
Another deliberate move: Delta’s room service menus and any other hotel material are mounted on a narrow ledge above the desk so that the surface is clear. Ditto for bathroom amenities contained on a wall shelf, rather than laid out on the spacious Caesar stone vanity. “Our rule of thumb is that horizontal spaces are for the guests,” Mr. Aubrey says.
Women guests most likely will be pleased by the Philosophy soap, shampoo, body wash and conditioner in the bathroom (a brand that made Oprah’s ‘Favorite Things’ list). Mr. Aubrey says he agonized over the amenities, searching for a premium product that wasn’t going to cost Delta the earth. “The first product we sourced was going to cost twice as much,” he says. “That wasn’t going to fly.” Mr. Aubrey kept searching for alternatives. “I had to be the only guy hanging out at Sephora,” he says. “When Philosophy came through, I said ‘Pinch me!’”
Most men are unlikely to be quite so excited about premium toiletries, Mr. Aubrey admits, but Delta has always been popular with businessmen between the ages of 45 and 64. The company wanted to reach out to a younger demographic — 25 to 44 years old — as well as the burgeoning number of female business travellers. According to the Global Business Travel Association, 50% of business travellers are now women, up from 30% in 2000.
Delta has rolled out its new design in 10 hotels, and initial feedback has been relentlessly positive. The most popular features: the large flat-screen TV. Women particularly appreciated the Philosophy amenities, while men loved the ergonomic chair. And just about everyone was chuffed with the gee-whiz technology, including the SmartDesk, high-speed Internet and connectivity panel.
“One of the things we pinpointed is that the lines between work and personal life were blurring for travellers,” Mr. Aubrey says. “People often travel with family on a business trip, or they’ll blend a trip — taking one day of business and a weekend of personal time.” When travelling for leisure, people still want to be connected and able to work. “We see that even in resorts,” he says. “A lot of the business is group or convention business and people blend work and play.”
So, while Delta’s redesign should endear the chain to business travellers, Mr. Aubrey says, “None of the amenities are purely for business. We think all of our guests will like them.”