Som många kanske vet så skriver jag en hel del om trender, design och upplevelser i olika medier. Mest kommentarer får jag för artiklarna jag skriver för Finnairs tidning BlueWings. I veckan kom senaste numret och där skriver jag lite om hotelltrender. Här är hela texten om du vill skaffa lite koll inför semestern. Är nästa upplevelse ett IKEA-hotell eller Muji-hotell kanske?
Text ur tidningen: “Good morning, how can we exceed your expectations today?”
How is your flight? Staying at a nice hotel when you arrive? Trends are happening in every industry and of course the hospitality sector is of no exception. Colours, how we are greeted and what music they play in the elevator – everything is constantly changing. Among the coming trends in the hospitality industry we will see rooms getting homelier and new hotel by interior brand and restaurant owners. And next time you check in at a hotel you will most likely meet locals in the lobby.
For a while we have seen fancy design hotels with tons of oversized furniture pieces. But that’s so last season. A nice hotel this year should be like an updated version of your home. A better bed for instance or better sheets. Not so sure it is an example of updated version of a home but did you know that IKEA has opened a hotel just recently? You now get a room key, a wrench and a box full of pieces that you get to put together all by yourself before going to sleep. No, not that bad. But the IKEA Hotel is actually pretty nice with funky new Scandinavian design pieces. Just like it should be. And if you like the simplicity. Check out the Muji hotel that will open next year.
The best hotel breakfast I have ever had was at a smalltown hotel in Växjö, Sweden, called PM & Vänner. They had amazing eggs and bacon, dried foraged mushrooms, local yoghurt with fresh granola and lingonberries from the area. This quite new hotel is the first gourmet hotel in my home country, founded by chef and restaurateurs. Internationally we see how restaurateurs are opening new hotel and hospitality concepts. Like New York based Spotted Pig. But it is all about collaborations. If anyone can make you feel special, then it is the person who gets you the perfect pokebowl – like the collaboration between Wolfang Puck and Four Seasons New York Hotel or Flemings hotel group who now collaborate with Michelin star restaurateur at Ormer.
Food should of course be locally produced as we have heard plenty of times. But speaking about locals. Yes, being local is trendy also for hotels. We want the locals of the city to hang out at the public spaces. Hotels are today doing their best to attract the young, trendy crowd to visit the hotel. Free wi-fi is mandatory but perhaps also complimentary coffee is a trick. You don’t want the hotel staff to stop anyone and ask for their room number. Rather the opposite. “Welcome, local neighbour, perhaps you want to stay for an afternoon tea?”. In a newly opened hotel in Stockholm called At Six they have a bar specialised on sound. Just so locals where you can play their own music or have a poetry reading. Anything to make the locals come by…
So, hotels are becoming nicer. Take away oversized and strange furniture and focus on making the locals stop by.
One of my favourite new things is from the effect of sharing economy. What is the next level for hospitality. Well, guided tours are on the agenda. Airbnb just launched something called Trips. You can now book your local guide via an app. And just as Airbnb challenged the hospitality industry by offering something extreme local, these guided tours will also challenge the way you look at a city. Book for instance Trendstefan for a two-hour tour of Stockholm for the best design spots in the city, or a local mum for good playground places. I think this is super cool and I am sure we will see much more of this. I would love to book a guided bike tour with spa experience included in Seoul next time I go there.