NEWH - April 2005 - (Page 10)

lessons from retail by Stan Laegreid, AIA About 15 years ago, retailers looking for inspiration turned their eyes to the hospitality industry. What they found transformed the shopping experience. Today’s visitors to a fashion shopping center, a department store or boutique shops may arrive at a covered porte-cochere, have their vehicles parked by valets and their requests addressed by a concierge or personal shopper. Though these more formal expressions are associated with retail destinations such as Scottsdale Fashion Square, Nordstrom or the shops of Rodeo Drive, even chains like Blockbuster and WalMart have institutionalized the “Hello. Welcome to...” greeting and “Did you find what you were looking for” at check-out. At around the same time, retail destinations also began to integrate entertainment elements – from cinemas and dining to themed environments and amusement facilities – in an effort to model the free-spirited spending associated with the travel sector. In both cases, what started as a differentiator has become today’s standard. So what if the exercise were reversed? If a hotelier were to don a retailer’s hat, what ideas might emerge? One answer lies in the effects of 10 Photos by Chris Eden, Callison Architecture While most shoppers don’t realize it, the sequence of services they now encounter at the local mall mirrors the kind of attention associated with finer hotels – attention once reserved for the wealthy carriage trade. Williams-Sonoma, New York, New York polarization, a trend that has transformed the retail landscape in all its dimensions by effectively bisecting the marketplace with commodity offerings on one end, and experience-driven choices on the other. As the hotel sector begins to undergo a similar division (consumers are, after all, both shoppers and guests) we can draw valuable lessons from the retail industry. The value spectrum – choose a side. The retail marketplace is increasingly split with offerings that are presented either as an enhanced Jordan Creek Town Center, West Des Moines, Iowa experience designed to attract discretionary dollars, or as a commodity-driven, value-oriented shopping visit. The former (think Starbucks) banks on tapping consumer aspirations – for example, the desire to associate with affluence, or at least the occasional indulgence – while the latter’s success rides on reliable low prices, high volume and wide selection with stores like Target, WalMart, or Costco. Interestingly, in many cases the same person will shop at both ends of this value spectrum. A Nordstrom shopper will also shop Target, a 30-year-old Microsoft millionaire will buy $30 olive oil at Williams-Sonoma and $3 olive oil at Costco.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - April 2005

NEWH - April 2005
Letter From the President
Upfront
Contents
Hospitality News
Lessons From Retail
Conrad’s First Ground-Up Hotel
2005 Leadership Conference
Remember Me? Using Video to Have Your Message Remembered
Woman of the Year
Design Showcase … Under the Tuscan Sun
Spa and Wellness Trends
Brand Perception
NEWH Icon Awards – Anna Perryman
First Canadian NEWH Chapter Chartered
Coming Events
HD at a Glance
HD Plantinum Circle Inductees
Contributors

NEWH - April 2005