Williams-Sonoma invites guests to spend the night
Familiar U.S. retail brands branch out to boutique hotels
Inside a New York warehouse that has been converted to office and design space are the seeds of a new type of collaboration between the hospitality and retailing industries.
There, West Elm, a division of Williams-Sonoma that sells modern furniture and accessories online and in nearly 90 stores nationwide, has created model hotel rooms.
Next year, the company expects to begin opening boutique hotels in five cities, including Detroit; Charlotte, N.C.; and Savannah, Ga.
“It’s more-approachable travel coming to life,” said Peter Fowler, vice-president for hospitality and work space at the company.
Room furnishings will be similar to those in stores, but are expected to be more durable to withstand repeated cleaning.
Fowler said the company was also looking to create a network of local artists at each location who would display their work at the hotels.
The hotel business is diversifying. More travellers are seeking homey surroundings at Airbnb and HomeAway and turning to boutique hotels for their non-cookie-cutter designs. (According to STR, a hotel research firm, domestic occupancy rates in boutique hotels rose to 75 per cent in 2015 from 67 per cent in 2010.)
That is one reason some retailers and designers see an opening for their hotel concepts.
At the same time, traffic has declined at retailers with brick-andmortar stores, forcing them to look for new ways to sell their wares.
“As online channels steal business from retailers, hotels provide a retailer with a unique, direct and immediate environment to interest consumers,” Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Travel Group, said in an email.
Travellers, particularly leisure travellers, are also shoppers. According to the U.S. Travel Association, a trade group in Washington, shopping was the second-most-popular activity among leisure travellers, after visiting relatives.
Still, retail hotels are in their infancy and can be a high-risk and expensive undertaking.
“It’s not as simple as people check in and you clean the room,” said Bjorn Hanson, a professor of hospitality and tourism at the Tisch Center of New York University.
But, he added, opening a hotel creates a halo effect. “The brand has a whole new sense of importance.”
Several hotel brands and chains, among them Westin, Marriott and Hilton, already sell beds, linens and accessories.
Westin also sells its Heavenly Bed at Pottery Barn, a separate WilliamsSonoma division. Linens and bedding are available at Nordstrom.
“It was driven by customer demand,” Brian Povinelli, senior vicepresident and global brand leader for Westin. Since 2000, he said, the brand has sold 100,000 mattresses and 175,000 pillows, worth $150 million.
The convergence of hotels and merchandise started, perhaps unsurprisingly, at luxury properties. Almost two years ago, Baccarat, a French crystal manufacturer, opened a 50storey building with a hotel and apartments across the street from the Museum of Modern Art, six blocks from its Manhattan flagship store.
Crystal designs are displayed in public areas. Guests can order from the display and have their purchases shipped to their homes, saving time and a trip to the retail store. Select guest-room entrances exhibit art inspired by crystal pieces.
“It allows the guests to interact with the brand in their experiences in the hotel,” said Hermann Elger, managing director at the property.