Linger a little too long in a store and loss prevention may get a bit suspicious. Wander aimlessly in a hotel lobby or rest your feet atop a coffee table staring aimlessly out the window? No problem.
As the competitive landscape has demanded new skill sets from brands and the delivery of experiential and immersive retail — whatever that may mean — marketers these days are increasingly taking their cues from the hospitality industry. More specifically, hotels offer everything from inspiration on service in a store or retail center to some companies embarking on far more ambitious projects, such as their own boutique hotels for the ultimate in brand immersion.
The convergence is certainly not new.
“Although it’s not a regular thing, it’s growing and the boutique lifestyle industry is growing very tremendously. The industry has been design-oriented for a while,” said CBRE Hotels managing director Bruce Baltin, citing Ralph Lauren’s work on the Round Hill Hotel and Villas in Jamaica and the Armani Hotel Dubai.
“You look at hotels, travel and fashion historically and you can see intersection from designers who have done suites or the interior. We’ve seen hotels and designers collaborate on uniforms. You see that in the restaurant business, too.
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