040 VIRGIN AUSTRALIA MAY 2017
HOTELS
WORDSDAN F STAPLETONPHOTOGRAPHYBENEDICT JOHNSON/THE COURTAULD GALLERY, KEN SEETAt the hotel itself, there
will be a series of events led by
longstanding staf members,
including a wine tasting with
in-house chef Eneko Atxa
featuring drops from his own
vineyard in Spain. According
to Vieira, these activities
aim to provide ‘bite-sized’
examples of the hotel’s ethos.
“Each session is no more
than one hour,” he says. “This
is enough to pick up plenty of
insider tips from the masters
and have fun doing so.”
The L2 report singled out
the Hong Kong hotel group
Peninsula as a brand with
a particularly enticing and
well-thought-out ofering.
The group’s Academy program
operates in key locations such
as New York, a particularly
competitive market where
hotels continually strive to
diferentiate themselves.
Peninsula New York
concierge Frederick Bigler says
the family-centric program
takes classic ManhattanCLOCK WISE FROM ABOVE
A private boat tour with Four
Seasons Langkawi; surveying
the masterpieces on display at
London’s Courtauld Gallery; the
New York Peninsula’s ‘Behind
the Broadway Curtain’ tour.
PREVIOUS PAGE The Jackalope
Hotel, Mornington Peninsula.them to shop around. “Amid...
increased price transparency
through online travel agencies,
metasearch and other travel
sites, luxury hotel brands
need to invest in delivering
curated [stays] that will
preserve and strengthen
their brand,” the report says.
Alan Vieira, head
concierge at One Aldwych in
central London, agrees that
upscale hotels need to look
beyond their guestrooms in
order to attract tomorrow’s
spoilt-for-choice travellers.
“Guests are now looking for
richer experiences than just
a room for the night,” he says.
Vieira is overseeing One
Aldwych’s summer Urban
Resort program, which kicks
of in July and provides visitors
with on-site and on-location
activities. Guests can go
backstage at the Theatre
Royal Drury Lane or join a
private tour of the Courtauld
Gallery to see Monets and
Cézannes sans crowds.attractions and enhances
them. “A good example is our
‘Behind The Broadway Curtain’
experience,” he says. “Families
enjoy a two-hour walking tour
with a working actor in the
aternoon and, that evening,
they sit front and centre at
the show of their choice.
Aterwards a member of the
production appears stage-side
for an informal question-and-
answer about the show.”
Bigler says packages
such as these are a natural
progression for the Peninsula,
which — like many of New
York’s glitziest hotels — already
hosts festivities throughout the
year. “Last Christmas, we had a
special candy shop for children
accompanied by carollers, plus
gingerbread-house-building
classes for families,” he notes.
Bigler thinks the brands
that will prevail in the years
ahead will be those that
combine activities at the
hotels themselves with
plenty of of-site excursions.
“For us, the Academy programs
really are the tip of the
iceberg,” he says.