Hotels shun generic luxury in bid to woo Airbnb travellers seeking more authentic experience
When American interior designer Amy Spiegel checked into the newly opened Arlo hotel in New York City, she did something she hadn’t done for years: she raided the mini-bar.
“Hotels usually have grim offerings of M&Ms, bland potato chips and overpriced wines,” she says. “But I’d stocked mine up with my favourite local Brooklyn treats, like Butter & Scotch’s Dark and Stormy Caramel Popcorn, from the hotel’s general store.”
Offering locally sourced artisanal products is just one way that some hotels are thinking creatively about how to personalise their guests’ stays by providing opportunities to engage with the local community, especially when it comes to art, design or crafts.
“The trend is being driven by a new generation of millennial Airbnb-savvy travellers who are looking for an authentic neighbourhood experience rather than a formulaic cookie-cutter luxury stay,” says Adam Farmerie, whose New York-headquartered interior design firm AvroKo was responsible for the interiors of the 325-room micro-hotel.
Here, rooms averaging 160 square feet feature personal “touchpoints”, such as a a Jefferson-style bed (fitting within a frame), with two clocks, one showing New York time; the other set to the guest’s home time; and a custom-designed walnut wall of adjustable hanging pegs so guests can arrange their “wardrobe” to fit the clothes they need to hang. Bathroom amenities are by the Blind Barber, a local cocktail and fashion bar that also cuts hair.
