Skift Take
The power of a great lobby is a huge differentiator in hospitality. Hotels shouldn't forget its power. In fact, they should double down.
Keen observers of the hospitality space are obsessed with Airbnb and every business move it makes. The strategy departments of traditional hotel groups are working overtime to figure out differentiation as many of their paying leisure customers have fled into the well designed, savvy millennial platform. And, with their new offering, Airbnb Plus, it is now catering to the needs of a well-heeled business traveler with claims of consistency night after night that is an often-cited need for the category.
But hotels have a beautifully simple, obvious answer as they frantically search for ways to fight back against the highly valued platform. And it is core to the essence of what they do.
I wrote earlier about the Japanese bookstore working with residential developers to create engaging, convivial spaces that people want to spend time. There's magic in the right space that makes you want to linger and turn your brain from digitally distracted trance into a receptive and aware state of being.
The hotel lobby, when magically done, is a reason to eschew a rented apartment and
