It’s luxury with a conscience. Ethical holiday directory, responsibletravel.com announced in February 2008 that it had seen an 87% increase on the number of people enquiring about responsible vacations. These include helping local people to earn a fairer income from tourism, supporting local conservation or ensuring that any negative environmental or cultural impacts are reduced. Such environmental awareness is more common among independently operated properties than international chain hotels, but with new government incentives in place, running a green hotel is becoming more economically feasible. Public and media pressure has meant that several hotel brands are now boosting their eco-friendly credentials and brands within established groups are differentiating themselves by addressing the issue. For example Aloft by Starwood Hotels is using recycled teak in its properties and has provided special parking spaces for hybrid cars; Hyatt’s Andaz sub-brand promises to incorporate eco-friendly materials into all new builds; Fairmont’s Green Partnership focuses on waste management, energy and water conservation and community outreach programmes; and Hilton hotels have launched the ‘we care!’ programme across 79 properties in Europe and Africa.

Co-branding is also on the up. Many luxury hotel companies are pursuing out-of-room revenue growth opportunities, including signature restaurants as well as spa and associated product innovations in specific properties. This has led to, amongts others, Gordon Ramsey at Claridges, Armani and Bulgari fashion house hotels and the association with other ‘cultural brands’ such as Bliss spa treatments. For an increasingly picky clientele the hotel experience is no longer just about room size, bed quality and location. While some may see this high-end focus as a niche, the trickle down effect across key mass brands is having significant impact. The core chains from Hilton and Hyatt through to Sheraton and Marriott are variously seeking to capitalise on the association with the Park Hyatt, St Regis, Ritz Carlton and similar up-market sub-brands in their portfolios. For the majority of hotels the core Monday to Thursday crowd is the business community for whom a balance of cost, convenience and comfort is the crucial influence. As the area where Value Innovation first had significant impact in the late 1990 providing the service combination that meets the critical business travel criteria is still a major area of opportunity.