Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, part of IHG® (InterContinental® Hotels Group), today unveils its next generation guest room – an innovative design developed with industry-leading influencers and experts to meet the changing needs of today’s modern business traveller.Guest room designs, particularly the placement of the bed, have remained virtually unchanged for the last 60 years, since standardised guest room dimensions were introduced by Kemmons Wilson, founder of the Holiday Inn® Brand. The new Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts guest room introduces a uniquely angled bed design, reducing noise levels and supporting a great night’s sleep.
Given the 24/7, ‘always on’, hectic pace of today’s business travel, modern business travellers are looking for a peaceful environment where they can be productive, without necessarily feeling like they are working. As more Millennials enter the workforce, they also expect their ‘office’ to be wherever they want to be – as long as there is connectivity. And, all modern business travellers want to be able to recharge and revitalise – setting themselves up for success.
Working for the past two years with leading designers from outside the sector, Future Agenda and Pearson Lloyd, specialising in areas such as the future of workspace, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts has developed an intuitive, cutting-edge design that radically challenges the traditional norms of business space in hotels, creating a modern environment to meets the needs of business travellers in the 21st century.
Keith Barr, Chief Commercial Officer, IHG said “At IHG we have a deep understanding of our guests and meet their differing needs through our family of brands. At the heart of Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts brand is a commitment to helping the modern business traveller meet the challenges and hectic pace of today’s 24/7, ‘always on’, environment.
“Our innovative, intuitive guest room design creates a fantastic new space that will encourage them to be productive but also to rest and, crucially, to get a great night’s sleep. The response from guests has been outstanding. They tell us they can rest more easily and can focus more on what they need to do to be successful. We want to help all our guests to have a successful life – not just a successful stay.”
Like the ‘working triangle’ of a chef’s kitchen, the new Crowne Plaza room allows guests to move freely between three key areas – a cocooned bed, a flexible ‘nook’ and a streamlined workspace.
The room’s new layout also ensures that there is space to pace – and think. The key benefits are:
• Rest – the uniquely angled bed has a padded, curved headboard which, along with insulated wall panels on each side of the room, dramatically reduces noise levels and helps with better sleep. In comparison to a typical hotel room, consumer testing revealed a 30% improvement in noise reduction.
• Connectivity – the innovative ‘nook’ area offers a multi-purpose and comfortable space to hold informal meetings, doubling as an area to socialise and relax away from the traditional workspace.
• Space – the dedicated, multi-purpose workspace offers a clutter free surface with accessible outlets and adjustable lighting – creating a productive environment for work as well as catering for vanity needs with a hair dryer in the drawer and mirror above the desk.
Testing of the new room’s benefits has revealed that, compared to a standard hotel room design, more modern business travellers feel that that new guest room design helps them to get a better night’s sleep, work productively and efficiently and makes them feel successful.
The new guest room will launch in the Americas region in 2015 at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Midtown and with early adopters. As one of the world’s fastest growing upscale brands, there is also a clear opportunity for a global rollout in the near future.
