Cultivating the Digital Hospitality Experience
Yotel brings fresh insight to the modern guest experience.
The way travelers views accommodations is changing — and Yotel is at the forefront of this market dynamic. Yotel is a unique series of hotels offering intimate, artfully designed spaces that combine affordable luxury with a clean, tech-driven approach and a Japanese-inspired aesthetic. Offering three airport-based hotels in London and Amsterdam, as well as a 600-cabin hotel in New York City, Yotel is reshaping the industry’s approach to lodging. They’ve successfully positioned themselves as a digital leader in hotels through implementation of the latest technology and a hyperawareness of the needs of today’s modern guest.
“We look at the hospitality industry and take things from a technology perspective,” explains Jason Brown ’05, Chief Development Officer at Yotel. “An example of that is the check-in kiosk. The airlines have done a great job over the last 20 years of getting people used to checking in on kiosks, but that had never been done in hotels before because it was said that no one would ever use them. But it was actually fantastic—95%+ of our check-ins and checkouts are done at kiosks now. And this really frees up our crew members’ time to do what they are supposed to do—deliver exceptional hospitality.”
Each Yotel offers guests simple, thoughtfully designed rooms that provide luxury without the expensive provisions that tend to spike the prices of other rooms. Guests enjoy free wifi, workspaces with printers, galley kitchens with complimentary beverages, and other offerings that cater to today’s budget-savvy consumer. The New York location features robotic luggage storage and numerous spaces for mixing and mingling, while Yotel’s airport locations offer guests in-terminal accommodations that are bookable in hourly increments, providing a respite for travelers to rest or work between flights. “We’ve created an environment where guests can work, play, eat, and sleep — delivered in a digital footprint,” says Brown.
Yotel has enjoyed incredible success with this model, building on its original European offerings to its New York location the United States. Plans for expansion include the 2018 opening of a 600-cabin hotel in the heart of Singapore’s bustling fashion district.
