The king is dead; long live the emperor.
For the first time in the history of BTN's Hotel Chain Survey, an Asian hotel brand bested its Western
counterparts as the top-rated luxury hotel brand scored by corporate travel
buyers.
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view the digital edition of the 2014 Hotel Chain Survey, featuring all rankings
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Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, which has 27
hotels in Asia, North America and Europe, earned the top overall score in the
tier as well as top marks for arranging group travel, meeting facilities,
physical appearance and in-room business amenities. Ranked eighth in the 2013
survey, Mandarin Oriental improved its overall score more than half a point
year over year, more than any other brand in the tier.
Last year's top brand, Four Seasons, slipped to second but
improved its score year over year. Buyers gave it top scores for its sales
staff, consistency across its portfolio and in-room personal amenities.
Hilton Worldwide's Waldorf Astoria Collection rounded out
the top three, improving on its ninth-place finish in 2013. Buyers also said it
provided them the highest-quality data of all luxury brands.
Last year's third-place brand, Marriott International's
Ritz-Carlton, fell to fifth. While Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons long had
dominated the top two luxury slots in BTN's
survey, in recent years that has changed. This also is only the second time in
survey history—a streak broken by Starwood's St. Regis and Luxury Collection in
2012—that one of those two brands was not in the top luxury position.
Bjorn Hanson, a clinical professor at New York University's
Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management, noted the top
brands this year tended "to be the most flexible by location," while
brands that are more uniform across the portfolio scored lower.
"This is a pattern," he said. "The definition
of luxury has changed, and people are looking more for a special experience,
not just high-finish facilities and lots of service."
Although this is its first time in the top position,
Mandarin Oriental is hardly an upstart, having established roots in key U.S.
markets including New York, Miami, Boston, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.
Recent initiatives that target corporate and group business
have included "heavily building on our suite business in order to meet the
growing demand from corporate travelers wanting flexible room configurations as
well as elegant, sophisticated meeting spaces," said vice president of
global sales Emily Snyder. She also cited a new partial massage service geared
toward business travelers that is easier for them to fit into their stay
compared with full treatments.
Mandarin was not the only Hong Kong-based brand to earn high
scores from buyers. Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, which has properties in
Canada but none in the United States, performed strongly in the survey this
year as well, despite slipping from second to fourth compared with 2013.
Additionally, buyers gave Shangri-La top scores for service, physical
appearance, public business amenities and its price/value relationship.
Notably, Mandarin Oriental also outscored its Western
counterparts in the price/value criterion. One key distinction of value to
corporate travel buyers: Neither brand requires a charge for in-room Internet
use, bucking the larger trend among luxury hotels. In-room Internet is
complimentary at Shangri-La properties, and Mandarin Oriental in October 2013
made it free for guests who establish an online profile and book on the brand's
website, Snyder said.
Overall, corporate buyer satisfaction with the luxury tier
was up year over year after slipping in 2013.
Globally, luxury hotel demand is holding a steady growth
rate of 3.9 percent this year, as it has since the rebound following the
2009-2010 economic downturn, according to STR Global.
It's a far cry from the days following the downturn, when
luxury travel and corporate travel were branded incompatible, despite the
claims that the productivity and efficiency provided by luxury hotels make up
for the higher costs. Even so, luxury hotels soon could face another challenge from
younger travelers, Hanson said.
"The stigma still is diminishing, but there's also the
taste and preference issue," Hanson said. "Many younger travelers
would prefer to avoid luxury hotels and wear tennis shoes instead of being
among all the marble furnishings."
This report
originally appeared in the Oct. 13, 2014, edition of Business Travel News.