Sanjay Murthy, co-founder and managing director of Figjam. Sanjay Murthy, co-founder and managing director of Figjam.

"Mid-range hotelss are less constrained by brand guidelines than five-star hotels and there is more flexibility to create a more fun atmosphere," said Sanjay Murthy, co-founder and managing director of Figjam at the second annual Hotelier Express Summit 2017 at Grosvenor House in Dubai.

Murthy in his presentation gave AccorHotels’ Jo&Joe and Marriott International’s Moxy a shout out, and according to him, the brands have appealed to the millennial generation successfully with their value-for-experience offerings.. 

According to Murthy, millennials care not just about value or price but the value of the whole experience. His advice to mid-market hoteliers, "the key attracting millennials to your outlet is innovation, flexibility, adaptability and ingenuity."

Murthy said outlet design should be integral to mid-market F&B. "Be flexible enough to listen to your customers and be adaptable in your process to listen to your customers on things like delivery," he added. 

Some of the disruptive mid-range value driven brands he included was Ace Hotel in London's Shoreditch district.  It has co-working spaces that is very millennial as well as does Hoxton in Shoreditch which uses space in an effective way. 

Another key feature for mid-market F&B outlets is technology. according to Murthy. 

"Technology is the biggest driver of change and a big draw as millennials are more likely than gen-Xers or post world war 2 baby boomers to take advantage of and use technology when deciding where to dine," said Murthy. 

Murthy added that millennials are growing up in a touch screen environment where content is consumed on such a rapid basis that from an F&B perspective, there's a need to create content that is tech driven.

"Can you imagine a five-star brand having a big Twitter or Facebook or Instagram wall to engage millennials? Probably not, but I can see mid-market hotels doing it and their consumers engaging with it as well."

  

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