ABTN speaks to Alex Apostolakos about the rise and rise of boutique hotels. He is the general manager of the recently opened Hotel Indigo, Intercontinental Hotel Group's new boutique brand, in Tower Hill.
How did the opening go?
Hotel Indigo London - Tower Hill opened on July 1. We opened with a small inventory, then filled up the remaining rooms by the end of July. It was a busy London period and it was quite significant for us, because we opened up with good occupancy and with good rates. It was a tremendous success.
July was a strong month and held up significantly better than we all thought, and better than many cities in the world. I think only Berlin as a European city did as well. And I think the resilience that London has shown over the years has again proved right this time. I guess now that the industry is turning and clients are having the confidence to buy again, the coffers are turning.
Do you have many business travellers on the books?
This area is primarily business. There is some leisure over the weekend, but at the core of our business is the corporate client who stays one or two nights. We are near the city, and a number of major insurance companies and we benefit from that. And we are so close to all the major attractions in London, such as Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.
What have you been doing to attract business travellers?
We’re engaging with the local community and local businesses, to enlighten them and show them our project.
Why do you think this location was chosen for the Indigo brand?
Hotel Indigo is a fantastic opportunity for a branded product, because it combines two elements that are difficult to combine: brand and boutique. In this instance they work together well, because the whole brand keeps the essence of a boutique. It gets the majority of the boutique element, which is the attention to detail, the small scale personal approach, a unique, intriguing and maybe eclectic design, and then marries it with the convenience and the trust and the safety of the brand.
Core elements of the Indigo brand are story, service and design. These three converge into a product that is unique to its locality.
The product also gives a fantastic opportunity for a conversion because part of the indigo brand is it’s in the city, and it has to be where everything happens. And the number of rooms – between 50 and 80, maximum 100 – gives the opportunity for smaller properties such as ours to be converted into boutique hotels.
How has the hotel’s design reinforced its boutique approach?
One of the core elements is the development story. The hotel belongs to London and the brand and it has to be influenced by both. For example, we have used different photographs from the local area on each floor - you can use that local area to tell a story. The client has no doubt that he or she is in a unique place, with elements of local East London landmarks, such as Tower Bridge, of St Paul’s. It’s a very specific locality that we’re working in. Because at the end of the day the client who comes to stay with us wants to know what is happening around us.
Perhaps the Indigo brand has the new generation of business travellers in mind?
I think you’re absolutely right. There are still a lot of people who choose brands because they feel comfortable and safe, and they know what they are buying. But, I think there is an increasing section of the population who are much more savvy in the way they buy, and what they want from their purchase. They want to know that they can get value for money, and a good standard, and loyalty points. IHG’s hotel loyalty scheme is a very good motivator.
They also want to be engaged on an entirely different level than before. They expect to be fulfilled. They want to be a unique person, not just another number. They don’t want to be in a 800-room hotel. They want to be asked for their name and have it remembered. And they also want to experiment with localities, food, design, but they still want wifi that works and good service. They find that in the Indigo brand.
Many hotels are aspiring to be boutique – what are your thoughts on the label
My experience of boutique started in 2002. I had the opportunity of looking at what boutique is all about, and I realised that quite often the word is misused by many hoteliers. Anything that is different that they want to give an explanation, they call boutique.
There are certain people who do boutique well, and some not. I think we need to focus on what boutique is. It is something unique, something small enough to be unique. You can not be boutique in a 200-room hotel. You could call it design-led, you could call it contemporary, but not boutique.
Boutique has to be a number of rooms that you can handle properly, where everybody is greeted by name. People need to feel as if they come somewhere that everybody knows them, and they get bespoke service, suited to their needs. You find often that boutique hotels do not have large public areas, simply because of the size. If they have large public areas they need a lot more rooms, and they wouldn’t be a boutique hotel.
Boutique hotels are always interesting places to be. It’s a journey of discovery for the clients. In many ways, the most successful boutique hotels have created a variety of rooms, to encourage that boutique feeling. So if I stay this week in a room on the first floor, and I happen to come two weeks later and stay on the second floor I get a different type of room. That is my feeling of what boutique is.
When did your experience of boutique start?
Before taking on the role at Indigo, I have also worked with independent hoteliers, to create a boutique hotel in Bloomsbury, the Ambassadors. I started in 2004, looking at the brand and working with Italian designers, and then we started the majority of the work around 2006.
This taught me that when it comes to boutique you need to be bold with colours. And with ideas. You need to think outside of the box, in terms of what the client needs, what the client wants, and put on it a price they are willing to pay, and feel they are getting value for money.
This is my first role within IHG, and it feels like I’ve come home. I realise the potential of the big brands: to put the successful idea of the boutique brand into Indigo, and go global with it, and tell everybody: “Hey, this is boutique!” You then have a following. This is really why Indigo will be such as success. I am tremendously passionate about what they offer to boutique.