Le Méridien's 10 minutes to impress
First impressions count - hotels make a lasting impression on guests within the first few minutes of arrival. That short time-frame could determine whether guests return, recommend or rubbish the property. Which is why Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts...
First impressions count - hotels make a lasting impression on guests within the first few minutes of arrival. That short time-frame could determine whether guests return, recommend or rubbish the property.
Which is why Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts has designed an innovative concept to transform guests' arrival experience to help business and leisure travellers leave behind the hustle and bustle of travel even as they walk into a Le Méridien anywhere in the world.
By appealing to the senses, Le Méridien's "Arrival Experience", launched earlier this year, revolves around creativity, calm, and inspiration.
Le Méridien St Julians manager Angela Saliba says the chain, part of the Starwood Group since 2005, has re-examined its strategy to identify ways to make the brand stand apart. Among other things, she says, the study found that the first 10 minutes of a guest's stay are crucial to tip the scales.
"Le Méridien also found that guests have particularly high expectations of the brand, the most European of the group, and that 80 per cent of guest experience is sensory," Ms Saliba explains. "The concept is specifically aimed at the creative guest - not necessarily artists or designers. Millions of people are creative in their professions."
At the very point of arrival, guests are greeted by the "transitional portal" - the entrance to Le Méridien St Julian's has been transformed thanks to elaborate graphic art by Japanese-born Hisham Bharoocha depicting the visual analogy of ocean waves and sound waves.
Once inside, guests are enveloped in scent and sound. Olfactory designers Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot of Le Labo perfumery fame, have created a signature fragrance for Le Méridien hotels centred around cedar, with hints of frankincense, iris and musk. To help guests to "reset" their minds, 500 tracks, described as international and rhythmic and created for the chain by Sony/BMG, play.
As they check in, guests are presented with a key card to "unlock art" besides room doors. A hundred contemporary artists have contributed to the international project to feature art on key cards. In this way, the cards take on new dimensions: it is a gift of art from artist to guest and entices a visit to contemporary cultural institutions. In Malta, Le Méridien has partnered with St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in Valletta with complimentary entrance offers.
As they enter the lift on the way to their rooms or suites, guests are entertained with music by New York-based contemporary composer Henri Scars Struck. A previous collaborator with Lenny Kravitz and Yves Saint Laurent, his 24-hour "soundscape" produced exclusively for Le Méridien features four themes to match morning, afternoon, evening and night.
As dusk settles, a "lighting ceremony" is held, when staff in costume ceremoniously lights candles in the lobby and bar areas, as they offer cocktails and mementoes to guests.
The 276-room, five-star Le Méridien St Julians opened three years ago and has seen an average 80 per cent occupancy since. Director of sales Malcolm Azzopardi adds that 35 to 40 per cent of its guests are corporate or business travellers. Others are couples or young people, not usually families, described as "adventurous travellers not tourists, curious to explore the destination". Thirty per cent of guests are British, others come mostly from France, Italy and Germany. Mr Azzopardi says enquiries have doubled in recent months but the team is aware 2009 will be a challenging year when even they will have to be creative.
Starwood prides itself on over eight million registered loyal guests around the world, half of which in North America.
Which is why Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts has designed an innovative concept to transform guests' arrival experience to help business and leisure travellers leave behind the hustle and bustle of travel even as they walk into a Le Méridien anywhere in the world.
By appealing to the senses, Le Méridien's "Arrival Experience", launched earlier this year, revolves around creativity, calm, and inspiration.
Le Méridien St Julians manager Angela Saliba says the chain, part of the Starwood Group since 2005, has re-examined its strategy to identify ways to make the brand stand apart. Among other things, she says, the study found that the first 10 minutes of a guest's stay are crucial to tip the scales.
"Le Méridien also found that guests have particularly high expectations of the brand, the most European of the group, and that 80 per cent of guest experience is sensory," Ms Saliba explains. "The concept is specifically aimed at the creative guest - not necessarily artists or designers. Millions of people are creative in their professions."
At the very point of arrival, guests are greeted by the "transitional portal" - the entrance to Le Méridien St Julian's has been transformed thanks to elaborate graphic art by Japanese-born Hisham Bharoocha depicting the visual analogy of ocean waves and sound waves.
Once inside, guests are enveloped in scent and sound. Olfactory designers Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot of Le Labo perfumery fame, have created a signature fragrance for Le Méridien hotels centred around cedar, with hints of frankincense, iris and musk. To help guests to "reset" their minds, 500 tracks, described as international and rhythmic and created for the chain by Sony/BMG, play.
As they check in, guests are presented with a key card to "unlock art" besides room doors. A hundred contemporary artists have contributed to the international project to feature art on key cards. In this way, the cards take on new dimensions: it is a gift of art from artist to guest and entices a visit to contemporary cultural institutions. In Malta, Le Méridien has partnered with St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in Valletta with complimentary entrance offers.
As they enter the lift on the way to their rooms or suites, guests are entertained with music by New York-based contemporary composer Henri Scars Struck. A previous collaborator with Lenny Kravitz and Yves Saint Laurent, his 24-hour "soundscape" produced exclusively for Le Méridien features four themes to match morning, afternoon, evening and night.
As dusk settles, a "lighting ceremony" is held, when staff in costume ceremoniously lights candles in the lobby and bar areas, as they offer cocktails and mementoes to guests.
The 276-room, five-star Le Méridien St Julians opened three years ago and has seen an average 80 per cent occupancy since. Director of sales Malcolm Azzopardi adds that 35 to 40 per cent of its guests are corporate or business travellers. Others are couples or young people, not usually families, described as "adventurous travellers not tourists, curious to explore the destination". Thirty per cent of guests are British, others come mostly from France, Italy and Germany. Mr Azzopardi says enquiries have doubled in recent months but the team is aware 2009 will be a challenging year when even they will have to be creative.
Starwood prides itself on over eight million registered loyal guests around the world, half of which in North America.