Marriott Hotels in the UK has asked five thought leaders including TV presenter and charity founder, Katie Piper, and England rugby ace, Danny Care, to share their vision of the hotel guest room of the future.
Marriott Hotels is now calling for the public to vote on their favourite elements of the rooms on www.travelbrilliantly.co.uk/guestroom before 20 October 2014. All voters have a chance of winning a four day trip to Marriott’s new hotel, Istanbul Marriott Hotel Sisli, Turkey.
From an interactive Instagram wall and selfie sticks to mind controlled projectors, the room designs are packed full of innovations and technology that reflect the needs and wants of the Millennial traveller. Visitors to the site will vote on the best elements of each room design to create one winning concept that will be built as a show room in Westfield London (from 27 October to 2 November 2014). While the show room will not be replicated at Marriott Hotels; it represents a creative example of co-created innovation that aims to inspire the future of travel.
How the Tribes Were Born
Following the launch of Marriott Hotels’ global campaign Travel Brilliantly in 2013 that represented a bold move in amplifying the brand’s dedication to leading the future of travel, Marriott Hotels in the UK set out to discover more about the lifestyle habits of Gen Y’s – 18-35 year olds – in Britain. The survey findings identified the emergence of five Gen Y Tribes grouped together by similar attitudes, lifestyles and aspirations. The tribes are:
1. The Desirable Digerati: Early adopters of all hi-tech gadgetry and digital inventions. These fit, sociable, fashionable males are well travelled and often use their tech prowess to create start-ups. Tribe Leader: Jason Bradbury, TV Presenter & Author
2. The Fashionista Mumpreneurs: Fashion forward, savvy, self-employed, likely to have had a career change after having kids to fit around their lifestyle. Big in the blogger sphere and on social media. Tribe Leader: Katie Piper, TV presenter & Charity Founder
3. The Competitive Challengers: Fitness super-fans who thrive on the challenge of physical competitions from Iron Man to Tough Mudder. Keen sharers on social media, this group travels in packs, always on the look out for adventure. Tribe Leader: Danny Care, Harlequins & England rugby team player
4. The Social Media Savvies: Lovers of the Selfie and fans of every social app under the sun, these well groomed, young and carefree spirits love nothing more than a good party at home or away. Tribe Leader: Victoria InTheFrow, Celebrity Blogger & Lecturer
5. The Financial Foodies: Tribe Leader: An emerging group of foodie fans who are ditching high powered jobs in the city in search of a fulfilling career in the food industry where they passion can flourish. Tribe Leader: Luiz Hara, Investment banker turned blogger, Editor of The London Foodie.
Marriott then invited these five personalities to design their vision for the ideal hotel guest room, ensuring that the characteristics of their tribe were represented in the design.
Trends in the Hospitality Landscape
With the emergence of Millennial travellers, the Marriott Hotels survey was inspired by an observation that these travellers – while a single demographic – significantly differ in life experience and career stages.
Osama Hirzalla, Vice President Brand Marketing & eCommerce Europe Marriott International says: “Every day we see discussion on the lifestyle habits of Millennials, but everyone seems to speak to this group as if they are one person. Marriott Hotels wants to throw out the generic term ‘Millennial’ and recognise their many faces. As we continue to reinvent the travel experience and ask guests to co-create with us through our Travel Brilliantly campaign, we are excited to see the different guest room designs and how the public reacts to the creativity and innovation displayed in them. We will take inspiration from the designs to celebrate and promote the importance of extraordinary design for the future.”
For more information and to vote on the Marriott millennial tribe guestroom designs visit www.travelbrilliantly.co.uk/guestroom
Further background information available:
– More information and stats on the tribes
– Pictures of the rooms
– Head shots of the tribe leaders
– Interviews with Danny Care and Victoria in the Frow
