Hyatt Hotels: Making Each Stay a Personalized Experience
Posted on Sep 8, 2017
Much of the activity in hospitality audiovisual experiences focuses on public spaces, but Hyatt Hotels is also looking closely at the in-room experience and giving guests what they need to make their room much more than a place to sleep.“Our guests are saying that they want to connect their devices,” says Mari Balestrazzi, Hyatt Hotels Vice President of Design. “We want all of our televisions and sound systems in guest rooms to connect to your devices so that you can watch your own content and listen to your own music. We need to facilitate you having your own personalized space.
Balestrazzi explains. “We’re learning more about how light actually affects jet lag and circadian rhythm and applying what we learn. It can make you feel different and make you feel better.
“We’re looking into smart-light technology seriously, in terms of how it can affect the overall guest experience and mirror what people are starting to do in their own homes, or be aspirational in terms of what kinds of experiences they want to have in their own homes.
In Hyatt’s public spaces, tunable white and color lighting are also on the rise, especially in meeting spaces, whether programmed by the hotel for time of day and event, or adjusted by guests.
Hyatt made room-dominant 65-inch HDTVs the focal point of their Regency brand and the feedback was phenomenal. “Our guests are loving it,” Balestrazzi says. “They like watching whatever they brought with them, along with what’s available on cable. It feels like an all encompassing experience. It makes the stay in the guest room feel a bit more special, with the same high-quality image and scale they have at home.”
Hyatt is also experimenting with tunable LED lighting, to add another level of personalization to the in-room experience. Adjusting the temperature, and thus the color and quality of white light, can help guests wake up, focus on different activities and wind down. “It’s part of the focus on wellness that we have at Hyatt,”
“We found that customers really like the ability to change the color of light in large ballrooms and meeting spaces because they can customize the experience for their event,” Balestrazzi says. “They can make colors that are on-brand for them.”
Balestrazzi believes smart lighting will a critical factor in a hotel’s restaurants as well. “Many of our hotels have just one restaurant, so it’s a three-meal restaurant,” she notes. “It needs to be bright, and happy, and fresh for breakfast. But the same space needs to be a little bit warmer, a little bit more intimate, for a dinner experience. Lighting can help a space morph over the course of the day. Our business objective is to provide the most appealing experience to our guests, and smart lighting will help.”
