Management Report Textiles in Hotel Design Hotel Furnishing Success Factors

Transcription

1 Management Report Textiles in Hotel Design Hotel Furnishing Success Factors

2 Contents Preface The feel-good factor as new yardstick The importance of home textiles for the hotel industry Preface Textile provision and furnishings Selection and decision Purchasing criteria Textile Trends Interview with Jessica Schwarz Replacement and new purchase Information and inspiration Demography This study was carried out in September and October 2015 by the Business Target Group GmbH on commission by Messe Frankfurt GmbH as a quantitative market-research study. All unadjusted data were collected via a CATI survey of the high-quality 4-star and 5-star hotel industry in Germany. The individuals contacted were decision makers for hotel fittings and furnishings. A total of 200 interviews were held with the following quota assignment on methodological grounds: 50 percent chains and associations ( chain ) and 50 percent individual businesses ( individual ), 50 percent hotels in the most important major cities, including Berlin ( city ), and 50 percent hotels in the remainder of Germany ( country ). Most establishments have at least 51 rooms. In the city the most important guests are business travellers, while in the country holidaymakers and leisure visitors form the majority Textiles enliven and beautify our home in the twinkling of an eye. They make us feel at home in strange places, too. Today, more than ever, this feel-good factor is having a major impact on the entire home-textile sector and thus also on one of our essential target groups: the hotel industry. For this reason, home textiles and textiles for commercial buildings form a key element for hotels as we shall be investigating in this study. The Management Report 2016 shows that textile provision and furnishing are a maximum priority for the majority of hotels. To discover the sector s latest trends and products, the hotel industry uses trade fairs and congresses as the most frequent source of information and inspiration and attributes great importance to these platforms. The quality of the textiles is the most decisive criteria for almost all hoteliers when making purchases. However, sustainability is also developing to become a vital factor in the selection and focus of hotels. Both aspects together, quality and sustainability, represent major trends for most hoteliers. In this Management Report, we provide you with answers to the most important questions in textile provision and furnishing: which textiles are particularly important for hotels? Who makes the purchase decision? And how often do hotels obtain replacements and make new purchases? On the following pages, you will learn how your products can be tailored exactly to meet the needs of the hotel industry. For this study, researchers from the renowned Business Target Group polled 200 decision makers from the premium hotel industry in Germany. Additionally, we conducted a personal interview with Jessica Schwarz. Born in Hesse, she combines her acting career with running a hotel. Discover which textiles Jessica Schwarz loves most at home and in the hotel. Nowadays, the desire for a better life shows itself in all things great and small in our everyday life. We eat more healthily, are more active, more aware of the environment, and aim to feel well all round whether at home or in a hotel. As a trend barometer for the whole furnishing sector, Heimtextil 2016 will highlight the possibilities offered by this promising market. At the world s biggest trade fair for home and contract textiles, we shall thoroughly satisfy the growing wish for a greater feel-good factor and show the impact that this trend is having on our product world. We wish you an enjoyable read and would be glad if you share your opinion of this study with us in our blog at Olaf Schmidt Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH 1

3 Textile provision and furnishings: Great importance for the hotel industry Selection and decision: Major differences between city and country 88 percent of all hotels that we surveyed consider home and contract textiles to be very important. In the city the percentage is close to 100 percent. As hotel guests develop higher expectations, the pressure on hoteliers has increased, and there is a demand for coherent overall concepts. Whether they are business travellers or holidaymakers: today people expect a hotel to provide tasteful furnishing and facilities more than ever before. Hence, textiles are becoming more and more important for hoteliers. The most important product group comprises bed linen and sheets, followed by mattresses, which are strongly relevant for the city hotels (95 percent). Bathroom fittings and furnishings are also a What is the importance of textile-furnishing products for your hotel, e.g. curtains, carpets or bed linen? 4 % 1 Very important Rather important Average importance Not so important Low importance 84 % major issue both for individual hotels and chains (78 percent each). Curtains and carpets (57 percent and 38 percent) are more important in the country. Decorative and long-lasting textile provision and furnishing products, such as bedspreads or hangings, tend to play a subordinate role for most hotels. Which textile furnishing products do you consider particularly important for your hotel? (maximum 5 products) Bed linen and sheets Mattresses Hand and bath towels Bed linen Table linen Curtains and hangings 3 Carpets and carpeting 28 % Furniture fabrics 1 Bath mats and carpets 1 Decorative cushions 8 % Bedspreads Wallpapers Sun protection 4 % 6 69 % 80 % 78 % 84 % At major trade fairs such as Heimtextil thousands of exhibitors showcase their broadly constituted range. The selection is large and the decision all the more difficult for hotels, too. Overall, the head buyers (76 percent) make the selection of new textiles closely followed by the housekeeper or the managing director himself, who likewise have a great influence in half of all the businesses surveyed. If we look at the city and country separately, there are surprising differences: in the city, responsibility lies principally with the head buyers and housekeepers. In the country much more frequently with the managing directors and external consultants. Who is involved in choosing textile provision and furnishing for your hotel? (Head) buyer Housekeeper Owner, managing director, lessee 50 % Hotel director 2 Architects 8 % Interior designers 6 % Sales representatives of brand manufacturers Interior decorators, interior designers 5 76 % When selecting new textiles, in city hotels it is the head buyers (92 percent) and housekeepers (85 percent) who are mainly involved in the decision. In the country head buyers are involved in the decision making only in 60 percent of the hotels surveyed. In the majority of country hotels the managing directors also make the choice themselves (85 percent). The hotel management is jointly involved in 28 percent of hotels in the country and in 25 percent of individual hotels. In the city and in hotel chains, by contrast, much more rarely. Particularly in the case of owner-managed hotels, external specialists, such as architects, interior decorators or sales representatives, have an influence on the choice of textiles (country 26 percent and individual 16 percent). In the city, the proportion is significantly lower at just 6 percent. An important insight for designers, architects and interior decorators, which can be taken as a basis for the future. 2 3

4 Purchasing criteria: Quality decides Textile Trends: Quality, design, sustainability High-quality textiles are in greater demand than ever. For 93 percent of all hotels quality is the governing factor and decisive criterion of purchase. Easy care of products also has a high priority for all hotels. A third of all country and individual hotels include aspects of design and timelessness in their purchase. Which criteria are decisive when buying textile provision and furnishing for your hotel? (maximum 5 criteria) High quality Ease of cleaning and caring Sustainability Price Continued product availability 3 (Country of) origin 28 % Design, look 26 % Classical design, timelessness 20 % 53 % 49 % 8 93 % Comprehensive collection, ease of combining different elements Latest trend Brand 3 % The price continues to be a factor for 46 percent of city hotels and 51 percent of country hotels, but it is fading into the background. Sustainability is an aspect gaining increasing importance and is named by 53 percent of all respondents as one of the five most important characteristics when it comes to deciding on a purchase. This criterion becomes significantly more important in the city (63 percent). In the country continued product availability and combinatory features play an additional role (54 percent). Sustainable aspects influence not only the purchase of textiles but the hotel industry in general. Chains in large cities, in particular, are oriented towards green principles and rate the subject as very important (80 percent). And 59 percent of country hotels consider sustainability to be an important or very important subject. How important is sustainability for your hotel? 26 % 6 % Very important Rather important Average importance Not so important Low importance 3 % 6 What is most important for the hotels themselves is something which they also rate as a significant trend in the textile provision and furnishing sector: high-quality materials and good workmanship are influencing our market more and more in the opinion of the hotel industry and are gaining in importance. A second trend for 34 percent of all hotels is that of sustainability. What trends do you currently observe in textile provision and furnishing? Quality Sustainability Design Product features 14 % Price 3 % 28 % 34 % 4 Sustainability as a trend is most marked in the city (46 percent). The chains actually weight quality and sustainability as equally strong trends, at 41 percent each. In the country, sustainability is given less trend relevance (21 percent). Surprisingly, however, for 46 percent of hotels design is the most important trend in furnishing textiles. The very widest range of styles is adduced in this context, from elegant to timeless and simple, to trend-setting and colourful. The price plays a subordinate role (3 percent) for all hotels. What in addition is astounding is that, while only 14 percent of hoteliers see the product characteristics of textiles, such as ease of care, as a sector trend, this consideration represents a decisive criteria of purchase among themselves. Thus, this subject has great potential but is too little regarded from the hotel industry s point of view. Recognising and exploiting trends The development in our sector towards high quality and sustainability and away from price is a trend, which we are also spotlighting at Heimtextil. Today, environmental protection, resource saving and fair working conditions are more than just a tendency. Consumption with a good conscience has become a landmark theme, which for the hotel industry also has a major impact on its purchasing habits. For this reason we have long been providing this enormously important field with a prominent platform at Heimtextil. 4 5

5 Interview with Jessica Schwarz: The fabric that (hotel) dreams are made of Far away from the major film metropolises, actress Jessica Schwarz runs a successful design hotel together with her sister Sandra in her home town of Michelstadt. In five individually decorated rooms, Die Träumerei (Dreaming/Reverie) offers peace, relaxation and lots of textiles. In our interview, Jessica Schwarz talks about childhood memories, her love of interior design, bed linen and wallpaper, and about the challenges of interior decorating using textiles in her hotel. Jessica, let us talk about your childhood. When you think back, what textiles do you associate with it? I immediately associate the Pumuckl bed linen with my childhood. This children s character was a must for every German bedroom at that time. I can also remember the turquoise-coloured carpeting in patterns typical for the eighties and nineties. My fondest memory, however, is of the photographic wallpaper in our kitchen, which showed a jungle scene with parrots. And this is the root of my passion for wallpaper. And which textile reminds you of home? Primarily, I associate blankets and bed linen made of natural fibres with home. I have always liked natural textiles, such as cashmere, very much. And now we have bought a camelhair blanket for the first time. It is fantastic to touch and feels almost like silk. It has given me a whole new sense of life. Naturally, a cashmere blanket for the couch is also a must. Tell us about your set dining table at home. I am a sensuous person and love eating. When I cook for guests, I take great care with the table decorations. My guests should experience a wow! moment when they sit down and wait for dinner to be served. For example, I bought some linen napkins in restrained and pigmented colours from Bloomingdale s. Flowers, attractive vases and the right table cloth are also essential aspects of a well-decorated table for me. You furnished your hotel with the help of an architect and designer. Tell us about the working relationship. At the beginning of the project, we often wondered: Will that work?. Although Sandra is an absolute hotel professional, we knew we would need the help of an architect. And working with Johannes Müller-Baum was a great success. He was very open and always said, Yes, that ll work, to us. The working relationship was just like that with a good film director. We complemented each other perfectly. Who decides on the furnishings and textiles? Sandra and I decide such things together even though, as the manager, Sandra naturally has her eye on the furnishings every day. However, even when I m not there, the hotel is always in my thoughts. Wherever I am, I look at the furnishings in hotels and gather new ideas. How important is sustainability to you for the furnishings? Die Träumerei is very ecologically oriented and we always take sustainability into account when it comes to our furnishings. We pay attention to the materials, for example, the country of origin of organic cotton. In addition, we use regional and organic products whenever possible. Sustainability and quality are definitely very important for our hotel. Which textile furnishing are you particularly proud of in your hotel? What I adore is the turquoise-coloured rug by Osborn & Little with silver birds of paradise. When the sun shines on it in the morning, the birds begin to shine and seem to be moving. Emery et Cie from Belgium also make great wallpaper. Now, I have this wallpaper at home, too. After all, I can t have more beautiful furnishings in my hotel than at home, can I? How important is a trade fair such as Heimtextil for you? Without fairs, we would not have been able to design and furnish our hotel. At no store would we have been able to discover the forms, colours and haptics of our hotel furnishings and certainly not via the internet! Only at a fair is all this possible. At Heimtextil, haptics are very important, as they are for our business, and I am already looking forward to gaining lots of new inspiration for our rooms at the coming Heimtextil. But that s not all: the fair has something in every direction and from all countries. I mean the huge variety in the halls bed linen, curtains and wallpaper from France, Belgium, the USA, India or even Ethiopia. And, of course, the latest trends and designs. A genuine dream! Die Träumerei is located in the idyllic town of Michelstadt, about an hour s drive to the south of Frankfurt am Main. Sisters Jessica and Sandra Schwarz have been running the small, five-room hotel since Further information at 6 7

6 Replacement and new purchase: No set times Information and inspiration: Trade fairs most important source Whether it is the guest rooms, sanitary facilities, restaurant or other public areas of a hotel: new and replacement purchases of textiles are made as required and not in accordance with fixed time rules for a significant majority. The country hotels replace their textile provision and furnishing, mostly flexibly after they have worn out, within a year. In the city this takes place for 21 percent in the first 1-2 years. The majority of hotels purchase new textiles as required and not in accordance with a time scheme. The results of the survey are strongly similar in this point for all hotels city, country, individual and chain. At what interval is the textile provision and furnishing completely replaced in your hotel? (example: guest room) Within one 1 year 23 % At what interval is the textile provision and furnishing in your hotel at least partly supplemented for the purpose of procuring replacements? (example: guest room) Within one 1 year Within 2 years 1 Within 3 years 6 % Within 4 years 3 % Within 5 years Trade fairs and congresses are regarded by the hotels surveyed as the most important source for finding out about products and trends in the world of textiles (43 percent). 37 percent additionally consider trade events to be of great or very great importance. Particularly in the city: 49 percent consider trade fairs to be the most important platforms for finding out about the textile provision and furnishing sector and for getting inspiration. Which sources of information and inspiration do you use for furnishing your hotel with textiles? Trade fairs and congresses 43 % Manufacturers catalogues and prospectuses 40 % Manufacturers websites 3 With their broad range of new products and trends, trade fairs represent best what the textile industry can offer for hotels. Followed by classical manufacturers catalogues, which for 40 percent are still the second most important source of information. The broad online facilities on manufacturers websites, blogs and internet forums, on the other hand, are used by only 32 or 27 percent of those surveyed to find out about new products. While trade fairs, catalogues and online portals are the most frequently used information sources for city hotels, 59 percent of country hotels also take the advice of experts such as architects (28 percent) and interior designers (31 percent). How important are trade fairs for you as a source of information and inspiration when furnishing your hotel with textiles? 16 % 3 Within 2 years Within 6 years 0 % Blogs, online communities 2 Within 3 years Within 7 years Architects and interior designers 2 Within 4 years 0 % Within 8 years Interior decorators 18 % 44 % Within 5 years As needed, time interval not determinable 6 Within 9 years 0 % Within 10 years Within 15 years 0, As needed, time interval not determinable 66 % Sales representatives 18 % Colleagues, competitor businesses 14 % Trade print media, digital trade media Furnishing stores 4 % Very important Rather important Average importance Not so important Low importance 8 9

7 Messe Frankfurt expertise in textiles Messe Frankfurt offers a unique portfolio of trade events for the textile industry. With 49 trade fairs in nine countries, the company is the world s leading organizer of trade fairs for this sector. Messe Frankfurt covers the complete value chain of the textile industry with four divisions: Apparel Fabrics & Fashion, Interior & Contract Textiles, Technical Textiles & Textile Processing and Textile Care. In addition to events for the apparel fabrics sector, trade fairs for the contract garment manufacturing industry, fashion shows and trade fairs for technical textiles and non-wovens, for modern textile care and for textile processing, the company s global repertoire also includes Heimtextil, the world s leading trade fair for home and contract textiles. Background information on Messe Frankfurt Messe Frankfurt is one of the world s leading trade fair organisers, generating around 645* million in sales and employing 2,297* people. The Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 29 subsidiaries and 57 international Sales Partners, allowing it to serve its customers on location in more than 160 countries. Messe Frankfurt events take place at more than 40 locations around the globe. In 2015, Messe Frankfurt organised 132* trade fairs, of which more than half took place outside Germany. Comprising an area of 592,127 square metres, Messe Frankfurt s exhibition grounds are home to ten exhibition halls. The company also operates two congress centres. The historic Festhalle, one of the most popular venues in Germany, plays host to events of all kinds. Messe Frankfurt is publicly owned, with the City of Frankfurt holding 60 percent and the State of Hesse 40 percent. For more information, please visit our website at: * Preliminary figures for 2015 Ein Beteiligungsunternehmen der dfv Mediengruppe Contact: Business Target Group GmbH Veerser Weg 2A Scheeßel Tel.: +49 (0) centrale@btg-mail.com Heimtextil International Trade Fair for Home and Contract Textiles Publisher: Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage Frankfurt am Main Contact: Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH Pressestelle Heimtextil Tel.: +49 (0) Fax: +49 (0) info@messefrankfurt.com Legal responsibility: Thimo Schwenzfeier, Heimtextil Press Spokesman Layout: Troyca Visual Solutions GmbH Heimtextil, Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH, 2015