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Customized Experiences in the Vacation Ownership Industry: Embracing Technology
by Margit Whitlock, AIA
Principal
Architectural Concepts, Inc.
Leaders in the hotel industry recently have been catering to the individual guest needs and interests as a tool to increase market share. They understand that up and coming generations are making lifestyle choices. Generation X (50 million people born between 1965 and 1976) want to be looked at as individuals. Generation Y (76 million people born between 1977 and 1998) want to spend their time in meaningful and useful ways and have a work-life balance. Recently 60 Minutes featured the “Millennia Generation” who are coming of age today with a wide range of financial and work options. This generation was always told they were the best and they expect to be treated as incredibly special. As well, the X and Y’s are used to being spoiled and put themselves first, the hotel industry recognizes this.
The most sought after trend is the boutique hotel experience. Why? Because they offer choices for the individual. Whatever your desire, from the extreme to the intimate spa or wine and culinary experience, you can find it. Specialty room requests are prevalent: Purified air, organic sheets and hypoallergenic materials all lend to individual needs. The hotels also cater to the guest’s thirst for technology and entertainment including Ipod™ docking stations, HDTV, plasma mirror TV’s, wireless Internet, voice activated controls and surround sound in the guest rooms.
This is where I see the hotel market making leaps and bounds over the vacation ownership industry – by catering to the individual instead of the masses.
The Y’s are part of a generation that rivals the baby boomers in size. They have always had technology as a part of their lives, whether it’s computers and the Internet or cell phones and text pagers. For this generation the Internet is the medium of choice and this drives diversity. Their high tech lives are connected at all times, to everyone and everything. High-tech products are starting to look less industrial in an effort to attract young buyers. Using bright colors and cool designs to attract this generations’ desire to be unique and compete with features and styling of their friends’ systems.
We need to pay attention to the needs of the emerging generations to position our vacation ownership product. The hotel industry has taken heed and we must follow suit and take it a step further. Being innovative with technology could very well be the answer.
In the future of hospitality it will be absolutely all about our preferences. So how will we communicate this to the reservation system, the concierge or sales person waiting for your call? I believe we will have a “Hospitality” card some day. American Express is ready to launch a customized credit card that is programmed with your shopping preferences. Why not a “H” card? Send your request via email with your “H” card preferences to set up your room requirements, babysitting needs, food and wine selections. You can already retrieve your room key at an electronic check-in kiosk. (A little impersonal for me.) Possibly it is not a room key but you enter your unit by biometrics. This eye, voice or fingerprint security is not new technology and has unlimited applications for the everyday consumer. In a few years your fingerprint may very well be your “H” card.
The emerging generations are ready for biometrics, they do not fear “big brother” like the older generations. What other technology could set your property apart? Robotic service providers, robotic sweepers, 3-D holographic interactive rooms, nanotechnology enabling a guest unit to transform itself as per your personal needs. How about clean rooms radiated from bacteria, wardrobe pre-selection (no packing), electrode brain cleansing and detoxification sensory systems. The list is endless and rapidly changing.
Remember it will be about the personal preferences of the individual. Personal customization will be a key factor. The vacation ownership industry needs to keep moving forward in this rapidly changing market and respond to these trends in technology as they will drive the future buyers’ decisions.