NEWH - Winter 2012 - (Page 30)

Product Know How Bathroom Boost By Kelly Hushin Deserved attention for the guestroom’s No. 2 spot ver the last few years, hotels have seen welcome attention as places not simply for sleep, but places to socialize—lobbies, bars, and restaurants. But as guests get savvier and hotels get trendier, they still expect their room to be well-appointed, and that increasingly means the second order of guestroom business: the bathroom. Technology is shaping developments that have led to the evolution of the hotel bathroom as a space that is not only functional, but also entertaining. “ e bathroom has been forgotten for a long time in the hotel experience,” says Jim Mischel, CEO, Electric Mirror. Now designers and developers have shifted their attention more rmly on the bathroom, as they can no longer ignore how long women spend in there, adds Mischel. Electric Mirror, an American manufacturer of luxury bathroom products like lighted mirrors and seamless mirror TVs, is known for pushing the design and technology envelope, recently introducing mirrors equipped with Bluetooth speaker systems. is development is a step in the direction Mischel says all highend hotel developers will need to take in order to gain market share among their competitors—all of whom are vying for a similar clientele who wants to be impressed by the hotel experience. Another manufacturer of lighted mirrors and mirror TVs, Séura, is also making technology strides in the luxury hotel bathroom, as well as in other markets, with products that span various price points. Gretchen Gilbertson, co-founder and CEO at Séura, says the trend to integrate technology into hotel bathrooms has only risen since she started the company nearly 10 years ago. Both she and Mischel cited residential amenities as in uential in driving this technology innovation. “In the bathroom [you want guests to go] in and say, ‘Wow I’ve never seen this before—this is why I’m paying this much.’ Not, ‘Why did I spend all this money on something that’s not as good as what I have at home?’” says Mischel. O From top: Color is in: Kohler’s DemiLav wading pool lavatory sink in Greenwich Green; Electric Mirror’s Stanford Mirror TV in the guest bathroom of the Wind Creek Casino & Hotel in Atmore, Alabama. 30 www.newh.org http://www.newh.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - Winter 2012

NEWH - Winter 2012
Contents
News
Who’s Who
Conference Roundup
Sustainability: Point of View
Q&A: Cynthia Millow
Q&A: Lisa Ghai
Have You Seen?
Product Know How
On the Scene
On the Cover
Project: Hilton and Marriott Prototypes for Latin America
New Members
Project: Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort & Spa
Save the Date
Partner Profies
Ad Index

NEWH - Winter 2012