All articles by Ky Nikitha
Ky Nikitha
Set the tone
Held in the midst of headlines dominated by the collapse of a historic travel player and a hardening attitude around the need for fundamental behavioural adjustment to tackle climate change, as well as continued uncertainty surrounding Brexit, this year’s Hotel Investment Conference Europe felt markedly different in tone and outlook to that of recent years. Was this a welcome to the downturn? Hotel Management International travelled to London’s Hilton Bankside to find out.
City planner
Head of UK at OYO Hotels and Home for a little over a year, Jeremy Sanders is helping lead the Indian operator’s push into Europe, following its incredible success across large swathes of the Asian hotel market. Prior to joining OYO, Sanders co-founded the Italian fast food chain Coco di Mama with a childhood friend at just 26 years of age, eventually selling it to private equity-backed Azzuri in 2017.
Landscape to portrait
If interior architects are the rock stars of the design world, landscape artists are all too often treated like the backing singers. However, in a number of properties, particularly in the resort space, guests will spend far more of their waking hours within carefully sculpted outdoor environments than anywhere other than the bedroom. Michael Shaw talks to John Krizan of Krizan Associates and John Goldwyn, vice-president and director of planning and landscape at WATG, about the emergent phenomenon of the ‘landscape hotel’.
Straight up with a twist
The creation or evocation of local experience and culture has become a common feature of design briefs as guests increasingly shun the cookie-cutter model, and demand ‘authenticity’ from the hotel experience. But what does the term truly mean and are hotels capable of creating new authenticities? Ross Davies takes a look at some recent award-winning projects feted for this very quality and hears leading hoteliers, including Nick Jones of Soho House & Co, discuss applying fresh spins on old concepts.
High five
The Intercontinental Shenzhen recently revealed it is to become the world’s first 5G smart hotel, having signed an agreement with Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. Promising guests everything from intelligent service robots to VR rowing machines, could this signal a new dawn in the digital transformation of hotels and is the industry ready to fully harness what 5G has to offer? Ross Davies speaks to industry experts to find out.
Plenty of fish in the sea
Driven by a love for the ocean and concern for marine conservation, Ángel León has long promoted sustainability from his flagship Aponiente base, and within three other restaurants, including one housed in the Hotel Gran Meliá Sancti Petri. He tells Tina Nielsen how this approach has garnered four Michelin stars and why he is on a mission to open diners’ minds when it comes to teaching us how much we have left to learn about the bounty of the sea.
What’s cooking?
In a dining scene experiencing constant reinvention, shifting guest demands and a shortage of adequately skilled labour, an ability to design both restaurant and kitchen spaces that are simultaneously appealing environments and easily reconfigurable is a must. Patrick Kingsland hears from food and beverage directors, and kitchen designers, about the opportunities that arise from meeting this challenge head-on.
A clean conscience
With recent protests focusing attention on both the climate crisis and hotel working conditions, operators have no margin for error when it comes to minimising the environmental impacts of housekeeping. Isabel Ellis talks to Debra Patterson, The Savoy’s sustainability manager, and Christian Lond, head of procurement for Denmark’s Brøchner Hotels, about balancing environmental and operational concerns.
Generation bliss
Reams of materials have been produced outlining how hoteliers can better appeal to the dominant millennial demographic, but little of the conversation has surrounded what this generation is demanding from the spa and wellness space. How does one entice younger guests through wellness and how big a selling point can it be? Abi Millar talks to Irene Forte, group project and wellness director for Rocco Forte Hotels, and Simona Migliniene, project manager at spa and wellness consultants The E77 Company, to find out more.
Lobby for change
Transforming the check-in experience and designing more dynamic social spaces is a focus across all segments of the hotel industry. While some are swapping the traditional front desk for apps and tablets, others are focusing on getting guests out of their rooms and bringing in a more local clientele. Will Moffitt discusses the vital ingredients that go into making the lobby a destination in its own right with Hasan Yigit, vice-president of Jaz in the City, Jérémie Trigano, CEO of Mama Shelter, and Jay Stein, CEO of Dream Hotel Group.