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How hospitality groups, brands, and product placement startups are building hotel-retail ecosystems
Hospitality companies have long excelled at cross-selling additional products and services such as food and dry cleaning; in recent years, they’re branching into broader retail endeavors. For example, Marriott Bonvoy Boutiques is a collection of 15 retail brands such as The Ritz-Carlton Shops, Curated by JW, and The Westin Store, which sell anything from mattresses and linens to lighting and outdoor furniture. Soho house, a membership-based hospitality group, operates an interiors brand called Soho Home, making what’s found in their clubs and hotels available for purchase so that members can replicate well-designed atmospheres at home. The Maker, a bespoke hotel in upstate New York, sells a curated selection of room accessories made by artisans and craftspeople at a dedicated store in NYC, hours from the hotel itself.
Some startups are creating hospitality-retail ecosystems by connecting hotel and short-term rental operators to retail brands and artisans. Treating hotel rooms and apartments as pop-up stores, brands can place their products for guests to try before they make a decision to purchase. Guided by the principle that customers should experience products in their “natural setting,” Minoan works with more than 160 brands to help property owners furnish and refresh their properties cost-effectively and earn a percentage of product sales. Throughout their stay, guests can scan QR codes to purchase placed products and have them shipped to their homes. Similarly, hosts that use the Glimpse platform receive free showcase products such as electronics, art, and furniture to decorate their spaces; meanwhile, brands benefit from the platform’s handling of placement setups, shipments, and a lead-capture funnel.
Ultimately, both successful hospitality and retail destinations connect guests to physical spaces in meaningful ways, helping them build fond memories that will make them want to return. To this end, the line between hospitality and retail will continue to blur as players in both worlds continue to grow this interconnected ecosystem.
Source: Skift (April 22, 2022)