Retail, Merchandising Holds World Of Opportunity For Hotels

NEW YORK— Retailing will be one of the next big areas of opportunity for additional revenue, according to experts in an IH/M&RS panel here Sunday, November 11. Entitled Retail in Hotels, A New Way To Expand Revenue, the session featured moderator Steve Higgins of Higgins Purchasing Group, Tom Horwitz of FRCH Design Worldwide, William Miller of Starbucks Coffee and Jill Cole of Cole Martinez Curtis & Associates. All panelists agreed that the retail sale of signature hotel items— via in-house stores, catalogues or websites— will boom within the next few years. This trend is expected to bring with it a new revenue stream that will help pad hotels bottom lines. It may even result in related positive affects, including the building of brand equity, particularly in the case of chic hotels as they strive to build their own niche in the marketplace and speak to a particular consumer segment. “We already see this with boutique hotels building restaurants that have their own local following, in addition to business from hotel guests,” said Horwitz. But, he warned that retail is an expensive business, and to be successful it must be done correctly. To that end, Higgins portended that many large hotel companies may soon add a retail department to their staff, allowing experts in the field to execute merchandising in hotel properties. “Starwood has been a major force in this area,” said Higgins, noting Barry Sternlicht, CEO of Starwood Hotels Worldwide hired a former executive from Pottery Barn to head the design of the companys W Hotels, which has already found success in selling items found in W guestrooms. “Where once hotels dappled in retail and merchandising, I think well increasingly see hotel companies developing retail departments of their own,” Higgins said. “In the near future we may see hotel retail shops become a standard.” —Shannon McMullen