The GCC is about to enter the rapid growth of the mid-market hotel sector with new brands entering this competitive segment. This is forcing the traditional established hotel operators to look at their established models. This new competition will introduce new models of services, design and efficiency where the established brands will suffer on margins if room rates continue to be under pressure.
Traditionally, the mid-market hotels were over designed, with brands that still catered for regional demands of uber luxury in any hotel classification. With the increasing price pressure on profits in the ever-competitive mid-market, the time is now for the designer to also understand the customer needs and design hotel elements to ensure that the hotel can stand the competitive mid-market sector.
The role of the designer in understanding the ‘customer needs’ is the key to raising profit margins for the hotel operators and building owners by driving a more efficient approach to the BOH and FOH offers that are designed into the building. Historically a mid-market hotel owner would want a five-star lobby, an abundance of F&B (as these were good sources of income before the market became saturated), would demand a spa and offer a BOH that was catering for numerous menu offers.
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The new hotel brands and offers from Europe and Asia entering the market understand that design dictates tight lobbies, reduced F&B offers, and BOH facilities planned to reduce staff numbers. The customer lobby and experience is a key area where the mid-market hotel can reduce staffing by adopting good design through having BOH lifts for luggage handling immediate to the check-in, and even being brave enough to have no luggage handlers at all other than statutory baggage screening. This one bold statement alone reduces BOH area but also the demand on lifts reduces core footprint.
Room service is also an area which is not offered in many non GCC mid-market models, with one F&B unit offering a 24 hour multi-offer, and in the non-peak hours the menu is so limited that one machine can cook all offers with skeleton staffing. This reduces kitchen sizes, power demands, and gives more gross floor area for rooms. Guest room management systems are also an issue in the mid-market where over-design is the norm. Indeed the customer expects the latest trends in hotel room check-in and room control, but the tendency in the GCC is to over design the functions of a room, as if a five-star property.
The mid-market customer needs comfort, simplicity and practicality for a memorable stay. However understanding the customers’ needs starts beyond design, with location being a key design driver for a mid-market hotel. Mid-market hotel users do not hire cars or drive, but historically rely on public transport systems. The mid-market hotel that sits next to an established location with transport links whilst having a higher land investment would see a higher customer room uptake (imagine the face of the mid-tier guest when they get the taxi bill from Dubai Airport to out of town locations?).
The location of the F&B is critical. In developed markets the F&B opens up to the street offering both in-house trade and passing trade, ensuring the hotel makes maximum revenue from the F&B unit. Designers need to be more aware
of the hotel customers’ needs in this market of price savvy guests, where the room rate and location are as important as an over offered menu or an over designed room.
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