ANDREW FREEMAN Presents

The Year of Living… Dangerously Hotel Trends To Look Out For in 2010 On The LGBT Scene

Who is Andrew Freeman?

Launched over 40 hotels and restaurants •  Re-launched Windows of the World

•  Rainbow Room •  Russian Tea Room

Kimpton Hotels •  10 year tenure as VP of Restaurant Sales & Marketing

•  Launched Kimpton LGBT travel program

Currently is President of namesake hospitality marketing and public relations firm, with offices in both San Francisco and New York

Andrew Freeman & Co. Clients*

*Full client list can be found at www.andrewfreemanandco.com

Putting Off The Ritz

Keeping it simple!

Hotels are forgoing the finery for now, keeping ambiance, service, and amenities simple, green and comfortable.

•  Example: hotels lose some of the in-room amenities – shampoo and conditioner in one, shoe polish and buffers, combs, etc.

Putting Off The Ritz: LGBT The LGBT market lives and loves comfortable luxury.

Function meets form – we still love our products and luxuries, but now it’s about simple quality.

Hotels are about creating home environments with ease – Don’t go over the top; it’s a realistic extension of home.

•  Example: 400 thread count sheets are fine, and when it comes to relaxation, a good cotton robe goes a lot farther than a silk throw.

Guest Who’s Coming To Dinner Hotels bring cache by offering guests something special

and inviting.

Celebrity yoga instructors, chefs, actors, singers, masseurs, bartenders and designers come visit and do what they do well at the hotel.

Guest experts are great for sales and Public Relations.

•  Examples: Rusty Wells and other yogis travel the country and stay in top hotel by offering guests an opportunity to experience their class.

Guest Who’s Coming To Dinner: LGBT

Invite notable LGBT personalities in their fields like chefs, actors, designers, fitness gurus and singers and give guests the ultimate experience by creating specialty LGBT Celebrity Suites.

Create a sense of unique access for both the guests and the stars.

•  Examples: Invite Isaac Mizrahi, Rufus Wainwright, Jonathan Adler, Rosie O’Donnell, Jamie Lauren, Nathan Lane, Ellen DeGeneres and gay pop stars to do interesting programs and stay at the hotel in the signature suites.

•  Offer an upgrade to stay in the Nate Berkus Suite or a special package to sing a few songs with Rufus Wainwright.

•  Bonus: Charity tie-ins make the package even more appealing to the stars.

Experience the Experience

Discovery weekends are in - guests are in search of experience vacations that allow them to “get involved.”

Farm stays, winery bootcamp programs, voluntourism, and cooking classes are great escapes from the reality of everyday life.

•  Examples: Apple Farm; Feather Downe; NY Times Farm Stay article by Kim Severson; Bon Appetit or Gourmet article (Tennessee).

Experience the Experience: LGBT

Speak to your LGBT audience by offering gay volunteerism opportunities.

Guests can enjoy a get-away stay and give back to a near and dear cause all at the same time.

•  Examples: AIDS walk weekends, HRC weekends, donate a percentage to charity.

•  Kimpton Red Ribbon Campaign and Pride Weekends.

Let’s Get Really Personal

Customization goes to the next level to create the at-home feeling.

Design at every touch-point is being personalized.

•  Examples: Pillows, music playlists and reading materials are customized.

•  Return visitors have access to cubby lockers where they can store their favorite personal items, and hotels have them set up in-room each time a guest returns.

Let’s Get Really Personal: LGBT

Speak the language of details; sure, the bathroom may look beautiful, but do guests actually have room to unpack their products?

Everything from the lighting to the sink can be tweaked to be the perfect combination of flattering and practical.

•  Examples: Bedding, lighting, furniture, deskspace, counterspace, digital photoframes – all personalized.

•  Set Liza Minnelli and Barbra Streisand on the playlist, offer Advocate and Out magazines on the coffee table, and provide his and his robes in the bathroom.

Small-Medium-Large; One Size Does Not Fit All

Small and quirky hotels offer a unique experience, and often at a more budget friendly price.

Loose the traditional hotel accoutrements and replace with an alternative vibe.

Airstream trailers, unusual property conversions, small but funky is the rule

•  Examples: Jane Hotel; McMennamins; Americana; Airstream hotel in Sonoma

Small-Medium-Large; One Size Does Not Fit All: LGBT

The early adapters - there is no reason why this shouldn’t explode even more so in the LGBT markets.

Since straights tend to be points-driven in their travel and hotel choices (so they can get those kiddies to Disney Land), LGBT guests are ideal candidates for new and experiential stays.

•  Examples: Turn to LGBT-friendly motifs and aesthetics, drawing on quirky new adaptations to “the ultimate experience” like theater-escape themes and focused beauty and health spas.

Heavy Petting – Bring The Kids Too

Hotels are making traveling with the whole gang easier by welcoming family travel and meeting kids with new attention.

•  Examples: “Kimpton Kids” offers welcome packages, with gifts, small robes, and activity maps, as well as perks for the parents like daycare and kid-friendly activities.

Heavy Petting – Bring The Kids Too: LBGT

Swap Dick and Jane for Spot and Rover – in LGBT travel, pets are part of the package.

•  Examples: Kimpton’s “HosPETality Unleashed”.

•  The W offers a version called “PAW” (Pets Are Welcome).

In the Year of Living Dangerously…

It’s about taking calculated risks to thrive in these challenged times.

And remember:

“First the gays, then the girls, then everyone catches on…”

- Samantha of “Sex in the City”