Trends: Rezidor Plane, Omni Check-In, Conley Book

Rezidor Parks Brand On TARMAC

By Adam Kirby, Associate Editor -- HOTELS Magazine, 7/1/2007

Rezidor Parks Brand On TARMAC

The Rezidor Hotel Group has elevated advertising for its Park Inn brand- literally. Rezidor has draped an Airbus A319, part of the Germanwings fl eet, in Park Inn's colorfully distinctive branding mosaic, complete with the hotelier's logo and its slogan: "Sleep Well. Live Well." The Park Inn plane will spend at least the next three years carrying roughly 350,000 Germanwings passengers among 66 European destinations. While Rezidor has agreed with Germnwing not to release fi gures, it is spending a "six-fi gure" sum on the sponsorship.

Olivier Jacquin, senior vice president of sales for Rezidor, calls the airplane "a logical next step" in Park Inn's brand development. "The Park Inn airplane is the perfect addition to our existing Park Inn advertising portfolio- we have Park Inn cars, Park Inn buses and Park Inn trams in several European cities," Jacquin says. "The airplane is a symbol of Park Inn's fresh, young and innovative image. We want to show people that we are different and a new kid on the block."

Omni Offers Online Check-In For All

Omni Hotels has launched an airline industry-style online check-in process, but unlike similar offerings like the program from Global Hyatt Corp., Omni's Internet initiative is open to all guests, not just loyalty club members.

Guests who made reservations through Omni's proprietary systems can access the check-in feature from Omni's homepage between 48 and two hours before their scheduled arrival. They can then confirm their preferred room type and, by confirming the credit card, can also authorize their charges. Upon arrival, they exchange their printed receipt for a prepared room key and welcome packet at the front desk.

"The whole premise was to look for ways to streamline the check-in process," says Omni spokeswoman Caryn Kboudi. "It is a way to not have human interaction while still feeling well-served." Omni is drawing the line at adding automated kiosks to the lobby; however, as that would be too "dehumanizing," Kboudi says. Omni has offered a similar online check-in for VIPs on an informal basis in the past but decided to extend it to all customers, as "some people just do not get around to signing up" for the loyalty club, Kboudi says.

Conley Ponders Journey To 'PEAK'

Joie de Vivre Hospitality CEO Chip Conley's third book is set to hit the shelves in September. In Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow (Jossey-Bass, US$28), Conley explains how he turned to famed psychologist Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to guide his boutique hotel company through the difficult post-9/11 travel industry. The book explores how Conley applied Maslow's theories to create a Relationship Truths Pyramid as it applies to managing employees, customers and investors. "It is a combination of these three relationships held together by a unique operating model, like the service-profit chain, that helps create peak performance," Conley writes.

The 297-page book is part memoir, part theory and part application, explaining to readers how to bring about similar changes in their work and personal lives. Maslow believed that peak experiences lead to self-actualization, and as such, "Peak" examines the motivations of employees, customers, employers and investors and how to use that understanding to foster better relationships and build a profitable corporate culture. Above all else, Conley concludes, great businesses thrive on leaders who create transformative experiences, for themselves and everyone around them.