Complete flexibility to create a stay has been put in the hands of guests staying at a brand new “affordable lifestyle” micro-hotel brand introduced today by Hilton.
Dubbed ‘Motto by Hilton’, the company’s new brand aims to position itself in the market a premium hostel, which Hilton says it has based on research showing travellers who stay in traditional hostels prefer rooming with friends or family over strangers but are limited by the existing options in the market.
Four cornerstones make up the Motto experience, these being a need to be positioned in central city locations, offering a localised and authentic stay, at an affordable price and doing so in a flexible way through multi-purpose spaces.
Such flexibility will see individuals or travelling parties able to book either one room or link multiple rooms together to create that hostel or dorm experience up to their preferences. Multi-functional furniture able to be stowed away when not needed will feature in rooms, along with wall mounted beds and segmented shower and toilet stalls. Rooms will be priced competitively per market in an effort to position the brand as a viable option for travellers.
Rooms will be fitted with Hilton’s ‘Connected Room’ technology through the Hilton Honors smartphone app which will allow guests to control features including room temperature, lighting, window coverings and more. An emphasis on sleep will see guests provided with a sleep kit complete with an eye mask, essential oils or vitamin bars, blackout shades and sound-absorbing materials.
Guests will be able to split their room costs evenly across their party, with Motto set up specifically to facilitate split payments for rooms if needed.
“Innovation is in our DNA, and as we embark on our 100th year as a company, we are innovating more than ever before,” Hilton CEO Christopher J Nassetta said.
“With Motto by Hilton, we are bringing to market something the industry has never experienced with its flexible and affordable room product, desirable locations and guest-empowered service.”
Construction of the first Motto by Hilton will begin in January 201, with the brand’s flagship property to be a 100-bed location in Marylebone, London opening at some point in 2020. Additional locations identified so far include Dublin, Lima, San Diego, Boston and Washington DC, with greater expansion across the Middle East and Asia Pacific tipped to follow.
“This will be a global brand, heavily targeting the destinations where our connected and confident travelers want to travel to the most,” Motto by Hilton Global Head Tripp McLaughlin said.
Hilton says the introduction of the new brand comes ahead of the company’s 100th anniversary next year and is designed to meet the needs of the “evolving global traveller”.
For more information and a teaser into the new brand, check out the video below.