From Dubai to Dublin, an epidemic has swept across the globe. Symptoms include tieless executives, DJ booths in lobbies and a series of ubiquitous buzz phrases – ‘social hub’, ‘affordable luxury’, ‘experience-driven’, ‘lifestyle-led’. There can be no doubting the diagnosis: the hotel industry has well and truly caught the millennial bug. It has led to the outbreak of new brands at an unprecedented rate. Moxy by Marriott, Rezidor’s Radisson Red, Canopy by Hilton, Hyatt Centric, VIB by Best Western, Even from IHG and Jumeirah’s Venu are just a selection of the names introduced to entice investors, developers and Gen-Y guests within the past two years.
All offer variations on the same principle. This emerging guest demographic is looking for new things from the hotel experience – some even question whether they’re looking for a hotel experience at all. They want speed and convenience. Many feel uncomfortable with excessive service and formality. Public areas need to emphasise sociability and ‘buzz’. Connectivity is essential, in terms of technology and the manner in which the property is plugged into its local environment. Operators need to focus on collaboration rather than subservience.
Of course, select-service, design-led concepts also appeal to the operators; being able to do away with having five people behind the front desk and 24-hour room service significantly reduces overheads and streamlines operations.
What’s more, this tech-savvy, independent-spirited generation’s eschewing of cookie-cutter concepts enables more flexibility when it comes to brand roll-outs.
The spirit of Jaz
One of the latest operators to enter the fray is the Steigenberger Hotel Group, debuting its Jaz in the City brand in Amsterdam, with a German property set to follow in Stuttgart in 2017.
Upon arriving at the 258-room hotel on the day of the opening party, a number of essential ingredients are present and correct. A DJ spins records at deafening volume as a cavalcade of upwardly mobile hipsters speed through check-in and head straight for the Rhythms Bar. The decor is industrial chic – bare wood, metal panelling and exposed piping intercut with sudden splashes of colour. Everything that can be digitalised is digitalised – including room entry via the use of a smartphone app.
Twenty years ago, there was nothing out here – and then Ajax arrived. Since then, the area has developed into the entertainment and business district of Amsterdam. This is a new city centre.
Music is a fundamental component of the brand and, more specifically, this flagship property. It’s prevalent throughout, from the artwork on the walls to the names of the public spaces to the local performers brought in to serenade guests in the lifts – I’m later assured this is for one day only and will not be a brand standard. The belting out of Layla at such close quarters gets a little intense. That emphasis on local talent and performance will remain a driving force, however, and even extends to the generously proportioned rooms, where I find the lyrics to Jacques Brel’s classic piece of melancholia, Amsterdam, running ceiling to floor down my shower wall.
While this opening bash might be taking in place in June, the hotel actually opened its doors in late 2015, under the management of ‘bandleader’ Jost von Beek. Occupancy has been high, and the team is happy with performance so far. The reviews on TripAdvisor are certainly overwhelmingly positive, but one does wonder whether the location will prove to be atypical for the brand. Connected to the gigantic Ziggo Dome music venue and sat in the shadow of AFC Ajax’s Amsterdam ArenA, the property will certainly benefit from guaranteed foot traffic, but how easy is it to fully engage with the local DNA when one is 10km south-east of the city centre?
“Twenty years ago, there was nothing out here – and then Ajax arrived,” von Beek acknowledges. “Since then, the area has developed into the entertainment and business district of Amsterdam. This is a new city centre. We’ve seen real word of mouth and a snowball effect in the first six months. The hotel is certainly reaching the people we always thought would be our target guests.”
It runs in the blood
Steigenberger Hotel Group CEO Puneet Chhatwal, in town for the opening party, believes the choice of location reflects the flexibility of the brand. “Yes, here in Amsterdam, we’re not in the traditional city centre, but the things that are enablers and drivers will differ city by city and location by location,” he tells me. “In Stuttgart, for example, we couldn’t be more central. There are no universal truths. Markets differ and cities differ. That’s why it’s so important that we really understand the markets we enter, to really get that DNA.”
“We have always wanted Jaz to be one of the enablers in the group’s drive to become truly international. If we go to Istanbul, purely Gen Y might not be the right audience. The same applies for Shanghai or Singapore. It has to have some correlation with the disposable income. So what we’ve said is keep 20% of the DNA global and 80% reflective of the local environment. You put yourself in tune with the city and the customer base.”
Hasan Yigit, vice-president of Jaz Hotels and managing director of Jaz GmbH, is also keen to stress the efforts the brand will make to differentiate itself in what is becoming an increasingly crowded marketplace.
“We all hear a lot about lifestyle hotels opening in hotspots – Munich, London, Istanbul,” he says. “Our idea is to come in with the real, local DNA, driven in large part by this unique music concept. We are not McDonalds: each destination has a unique interior design and architecture, and that’s driven by local culture.
“Stuttgart, for example, is a big hip-hop city. There’s a huge local scene. In that property, you will also find that music will be everywhere, but while this [Amsterdam] hotel is geared more towards big parties and events, [Stuttgart] will be much more about bringing that local hip-hop scene into the hotel. So the story will be different, even if the concept remains quite recognisable.”
Bridging generations
The scale of ambition is certainly impressive. That evening, as Adele performs to a crowd of 17,000 next door, Fedde Le Grand, who sold out the Ziggo Dome a matter of weeks before, takes to the stage at Jaz to perform for a packed audience of Amsterdam revellers. Off to the side of the dance floor, I ask Chhatwal for his initial thoughts on what he calls the group’s “new baby”.
“I really feel this is something quite different,” replies the CEO, who joined Steigenberger in 2012. “As you know, a big drive of what I have tried to do with this group is make it international. We can see how the world is going, and this is a great opportunity to really bring in a new market.
“It’s not only millennials; I see plenty of Gen X and baby boomers who want these social environments – to mix with people, to hear and learn new things. It’s a great way to stay young.”
Jaz may still be in its infancy, but the early signs are promising. In a segment where the one commonality is everyone’s claim to be different, this debut property is certainly playing all the right tunes.
