NEW YORK --
InterContinental Hotels is taking "outreach" to the next level with
a plan to make concierge services available to frequent guests in
their hometowns, even if they are not staying at a hotel.
At a press event
here, Peter Gowers, chief marketing officer for InterContinental
Hotels Group, said the plan for upgrading concierge services was
"the next step in the revitalization" of the upscale
InterContinental brand.
The plan calls
for the creation of a separate lobby area for concierges in all
InterContinental hotels plus dedicated concierge Web
sites.
Gowers said that
in its effort to revitalize the brand, InterContinental would be
using "intelligent innovation" and would "treat people as
individuals, not as groups."
"You hear
hoteliers saying they are building a hotel for Gen-X or boomers,
but those are just labels because age no longer distinguishes
guests," Gowers said.
Gowers said
InterContinental recently surveyed 14,000 customers, including
consumers in China, and found that "the old idea of luxury being
white gloves and silver servers is over. It's not about stuff. It's
about opening up to the outside world and hotels being a place for
people who want to be in the know."
Consequently,
said Jenifer Ziegler, senior vice president for global brand
management for IHG, the concierge program was crucial in
repositioning InterContinental as more than just a luxury
hotel.
"While competing
brands are almost exclusively focused inward, within the hotel
itself, InterContinental is focused on the insight that world
travel experiences satisfy an emerging need for social currency,"
Ziegler said.
She said the
initiative calls for a separate lobby area, which eliminates the
traditional concierge desk; a computer kiosk with
concierge-generated content; a three-minute digital tour, narrated
by a concierge, detailing local destinations and attractions; and
concierge Web sites that feature the digital tours and provide
guests with other information.
The concierge Web
sites will also provide interactive maps that showcase and display
concierge recommendations for "a perfect day" in a city or at a
resort.
An Ask the
Concierge section will enable guests to make restaurant
reservations, get directions, identify local attractions or submit
requests and questions directly to the concierge.
A program called
InterContinental Local Privileges will enable VIPs -- customers
who, through their pattern of travel, show strong loyalty to the
brand -- to have access to concierge services at IHG properties in
their hometowns, even if they are not staying at that
property.
Also as part of
its repositioning, InterContinental has entered into a partnership
with Aston Martin Racing to sponsor that manufacturer's cars in
races.
Ziegler said,
"Both brands reach a new affluent customer, one who genuinely
understands that true luxury is about enjoying authentic
experiences. And both are renowned for innovation."
On the subject of
growth, Gowers said that InterContinental had 33 properties in the
pipeline.
Boston's first
InterContinental will open on Nov. 1 on the waterfront. The $315
million project will include residences, a first for the
InterContinental brand.
The brand's
growth, said Gowers, is part of InterContinental Hotels Group's
plan to add up to 60,000 rooms by the end of 2008.
Finally, it was
announced that Theo Randall, a chef who earned a Michelin star at
The River Cafe in Brooklyn, will operate a restaurant at the
refurbished London Park Lane, which will reopen this November after
a $113 million renovation.
To contact reporter Harvey Chipkin, send e-mail to [email protected].