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U.S. NEWSMonday 7 March 2016
US Travel Trends:
Why your hotel room might come without a closet or a desk
SCOTT MAYEROWITZ consultant from Lexington, and you can roll up in a ball solution. at some properties, it isn’t
AP Business Writer Kentucky. and sit anywhere,” Wright “I’m not on the road to alone. Several chains have
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ho- Often, these surfaces aren’t says. “But when you turn be social,” says Kron, who been pushing new designs
tels are going for a new “bigger than a sheet of pa- 45, 50 or older, your body spends 150 nights a year that upend the traditional
minimalist look to attract per,” he says, adding that doesn’t like those types of traveling. “I’m on the road room.
younger guests, but the a laptop might fit, but not positons.” to get work done.” At Best Western’s new Vib
move has left some expe- also a binder full of docu- It’s such a concern that Marriott CEO Arne Soren- brand, bed headboards
rienced travelers angry, son says guests no longer double as desks. Closets
wondering how they’re ex- A prototype room of Hilton’s new Tru brand on display in want a full dresser, closet have been replaced with
pected to get work done Los Angeles. Instead of desks, rooms in the new hotels will and desk. Removing some hooks on the wall and in-
without a desk. feature chairs with large armrests to place a laptop. items gives rooms a greater stead of a dresser there are
Younger travelers, hotels sense of space. Add a big drawers under the bed. Hil-
note, just want a clean (Scott Mayerowitz) TV, fast Wi-Fi and they are ton’s new Tru won’t have
and efficient space to stay. happy. closets. Instead there will
They spend less time in ments. frequent traveler forums “We can go too far if we be an open space with
rooms and like to socialize Wright has spent up to 200 online list desk-less hotels to say no work surface is the hangers and hooks on the
and work in vibrant lobbies nights a year in hotels and avoid. approach,” Sorenson says. wall. And the desk is re-
with a sense of community. understands that many Charles Kron, a 51-year-old “That’s not what we are placed with a chair that in-
So carpets are being re- make changes to cater to insurance company train- doing. Increasingly, we set- cludes a spot for a tiny lap-
placed by easy-to-clean younger travelers. But he ing consultant from Atlan- tle in a place where there is top or tablet. Starwood’s
laminate floors. Tubs are can’t imagine any millen- ta, criticized Marriott in one a desk. It’s a smaller desk. It Aloft brand also skips out
being ripped out in favor of nial deciding not to stay in such discussion for “moving might sometimes be a flex- on the closet, instead offer-
glass showers. And instead a hotel because the room away from being a busi- ible space.” ing some hangers behind a
of working at a desk, guests has a desk. But for older ness hotel chain.” Sorenson says the goal is curtain in a built-in wall in
are increasingly expected road warriors, a lack of a On one trip, he used the to make rooms feel more the bathroom.
to use glorified window sills desk is a deal breaker. ironing board as a desk. modern. While hotels say this is what
or oversized TV trays. “When you are 25 all is well Heading to the lobby isn’t a Take the bathroom. Histori- customers want, there is
If those “flexible workspac- cally, it was a small space also a cost-savings. The
es” aren’t conducive to with a door that swung in. big hotel chains don’t own
creativity, hotels are hop- By swapping the tub for a most of their properties but
ing to nudge guests to shower and converting the license out rights to them.
bring their laptops to the door to slide into the wall, And the owners and devel-
lobby, where they might the space feels larger. opers are pushing the par-
buy a glass of wine while “People expect a bet- ent companies to cut costs.
typing away. ter bath experience than “They are more concerned
But for seasoned travelers they expected 25 or 30 about the (construction)
who enjoy working in the years ago,” Sorenson says. cost, because they don’t
quiet of their rooms this has The redesigned rooms are have enough time to make
caused major headaches. “very much like that experi- that up if we hit a down-
“Flexible, I have no prob- ence you have at home.” turn,” says Best Western
lem with. Unusable, is what I While Marriott has taken CEO David Kong. “People
have a problem with,” says most of the heat from road can’t make the numbers
Don Wright, 59, a computer warriors for removing desks work.”
