Standard Hotels is dipping its toes in extended stay with the launch of Stowaway, a program that, like home sharing giant Airbnb, encourages guests to stay longer and reap some benefits in the process.
For guests who choose to spend at least a week at a Standard Hotels property, Stowaway (which also offers up a very Standard risqué ad campaign of naked limbs posed around various pieces of furniture) offers a personal concierge, customized minibar and reservations to both local restaurants and on-property offerings (There’s even a bonus Tesla drive around town, pending availability).
Stowaway guests also receive up to 40% off rooms and exclusive rates for additional guests.
The company has yet to reveal the upfront cost or projected ROI around the luxury-skewed offering.
HOTELS spoke with Standard International’s Jimmy Suh, the company’s chief revenue officer:
HOTELS: What prompted the Stowaway program? Was this a data based decision? What need is it filling for Standard?
Jimmy Suh: We launched the Stowaway for a few reasons – we’ve had an increasing number of individuals asking us for extended stay discounts. We took this opportunity to do a further dive into data to see how much seven-plus night stays contributed to our overall stays, and we found it was a surprisingly significant percentage. We realized that this was an untapped market for full-service. We realize that there are brands that cater to extended stays but nothing that offers the experiential value that The Standard hotels can offer. This program will not only help us to maximize revenue but also turn the tables to have guests look to us for extended stays vs. alternative accommodations, i.e. AirBnB, with offerings that those alternative accommodations cannot provide.
H: Stowaway is described as an expansion of Standard Time, a program launched in 2016 which offers flexibility with checkout. How is the “check out any time you like” situation going, especially from an operations perspective? Any challenges?
JS: Standard Time is going very well. We’ve had new and repeat guests staying with us solely for this benefit. The operational challenges along the check-in/out flow analytics were addressed before we launched the program; therefore, we have had very minimal unforeseen challenges since launching. Stowaway guests need to book at least five days in advance to be guaranteed the full suite of offerings.
H: What has guest response been like so far?
JS: We just launched the Stowaway program this year without any public announcement or marketing, which is scheduled to start the week of January 9. However, even without marketing, we have already received several reservations at four of our five hotels.