Global Update - Trends

By Staff -- HOTELS Magazine, 10/1/2006

FAMILY AFFAIR

Whether it is taking the kids on a

business trip or celebrating a family

reunion at a resort, family travel is a trend

that continues to grow. As a result, hotels

are adding larger guestrooms, suites and

villas to appeal to this rising demographic.

For instance, at Le Mauricia hotel in

Grand Baie, Mauritius, family travel is

taken to the next level with the opening

of Le Mauricia Village, a serviced-apartment

complex offering 21 group-friendly

accommodations complete with their own

private pools. “We believe these new

family apartments will create a new

market for the hotel,” says Julia Clark,

spokesperson for the resort. While the

majority of the resort’s clientele come

from Europe, Clark adds that an increasing

number of visitors hail from South

America and Australia, where opposite

seasons mean more opportunity to

capitalize on family holiday schedules.

DECORATING

FOR A CAUSE

In the United States and

Canada, October is Breast

Cancer Awareness Month,

and to show its support, The

Park Hyatt Toronto has

launched the “Pampered In

Pink Package.” With pink the

signature color of breast

cancer awareness, the hotel has transformed

one of its luxury rooms into a pink suite with the

help of HGTV’s Design Inc. Host and Producer Sarah Richardson. “Creating

the pink suite seemed like a decadent idea and a unique way to raise

awareness for such a worthy cause,” says General Manager Paul Verciglio.

In addition to the suite, all month long, guests will find specials geared

toward awareness. For example, Executive Chef Joan Monfaredi is creating

menus with a pink theme and donating a percentage of revenue generated

from the special creations to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Similarly, the hotel’s Stillwater Spa is offering a “Tickled Pink” package,

again with a portion of proceeds going to the Foundation.

LIGHTENING THE LOAD

The Regent Berlin is looking

to make packing a little bit easier

with the introduction of “Travel

Light,” its own personal shopping

service. But unlike other such

services, here the clothes come to

the guest. The hotel has partnered

with its local BOSS store to offer

mobile wardrobe trunks that can

be available to guests around

the clock. Complete with both

men’s and women’s fashions,

the wardrobes are a convenient

alternative for those guests who

cannot shop during normal business

hours. “We came up with the

idea as we do not have a shop in

the hotel itself,” explains General

Manager Wolfgang Nitschke.

Reaction to the service, he says,

has been quite positive. “Some

guests find it entertaining to shop

right in the room, others appreciate

the service in case they forgot

to bring certain clothing themselves,

and guests who lost their

luggage feel simply relieved to

have this easy shopping facility,” Nitschke says. Cost of the clothing

is the same as it would be at the

store itself, he adds.