Travel search engine Kayak will open its first hotel, Kayak Miami Beach, in April.
“We see a big opportunity to apply our audience and technology to the accommodations space to level the playing field for independent hotels,” said Steve Hafner, CEO of Kayak. “Our Miami Beach property will serve as our hotel design lab and deepen our knowledge of hospitality and showcase our growing capabilities.”
Located in Miami Beach’s cultural hub of Collins Park and housed in a 1934 landmark Art Deco building, the 52-room hotel’s design draws inspiration from the local Streamline Moderne architecture with design elements that marry the Deco-esque patterning with aerial crop and flight patterns, a nod to Kayak’s history.
A wrap-around public rooftop area contains the Middle Eastern bar and restaurant concept, Layla, powered by Kayak’s sister brand OpenTable.
Guests of Kayak Miami Beach will enjoy numerous innovations during their stay. All check-ins/outs are contactless through either Kayak’s mobile app or a digital lobby kiosk. The Kayak app will provide 24/7 access to hotel staff and support, notifications of on-property events, room-ready alerts, itinerary management, housekeeping requests and more. Every room features a mix of tech-forward amenities from connected TVs to Marshall speakers.
Behind the scenes, the property is a design lab for Kayak to build and refine its accommodation technology. The backend software, currently in early development, is intended to help independent hotels leverage the Kayak app and capitalize on the latest advances, according to the company. It will include integrations to cloud-based property management systems, wireless lock and access controls and sophisticated distribution channel management. Kayak will incorporate consumer and pricing insights from the billions of travel queries that it processes annually.
The technology is being developed in partnership with Life House, a vertically-integrated hotel brand and management company. Life House will help shape the onsite guest experience, manage hotel operations and enable guests to interact with staff as much or as little as they prefer.
“Our mission is to create value for independent lifestyle hotels and their owners,” said Rami Zeidan, founder/CEO of Life House. “Together with Kayak, we can accelerate our leadership in this quickly evolving space.”
Kayak will be exploring additional locations to help refine its software for different property sizes and types.