Music choice gets attention

sound system

Hoteliers are turning to music not only as a way to improve the overall guest experience, but also as a way to increase RevPAR through brand differentiation. The amenities and services that a hotel provides may draw guests there, but once inside, how do you ensure a pleasant guest experience and atmosphere that will lead to repeat business? Cue the orchestra.

“We find that hotels who go beyond viewing music as a commodity, the ones that make intelligent decisions about what kind of music is played at their location, are often successful,” said Sumter Cox, director of marketing services at Muzak. The multimedia company provides hotels music tracks and makes recommendations on what to play based on the property’s image.

“We ask fundamental questions about a brand and what differentiates them from their competitors,” Cox said. “It is more than deciding just what kind of music you will play at your hotel; it’s a discussion about what kind of music will work with you.”

Applied Media Technologies Corp. is another source for hotel music. AMTC has partnered with Sirius Satellite Radio and is responsible for providing hotels with access to satellite radio stations as an alternative to creating their own music configuration.

According to AMTC CEO Clayton Burton, hotel music often is seen as an expensive component, with other aspects of hotel operations being held to a higher standard. In order to attempt to meet the standard required by other aspects of a hotel, AMTC has begun offering its EOS radio solution, which plays radio channels based on tailored playlists, with the added benefit of providing on-hold telephone messaging services at the same price.

“Music is a managed service,” Cox said. “You can have the greatest music strategy and program in the world, but if you don’t have a good sound system or the right people managing it, then it simply won’t be successful.”

Aloft hotels use WXYZ Bars as live music venues

One lifestyle hotel that has transformed music into a part of its business is the Aloft brand from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Aloft hotels work with a third-party vendor to supply interior music to their premises, and keep the music seasonally up to date and fresh.

The WXYZ Bar is the main focus of Aloft hotels, where live local music is featured routinely.

But the main draw of Aloft hotels comes in the form of their WXYZ bars, which feature musical talent of all kinds on a frequent basis.

“All Aloft hotels have a different calendar of events,” said Paige Francis, VP of marketing, specialty select brands for Starwood.

Francis said that some Aloft hotels have more frequent performances than others based on their location and the number of available local bands, but the average number of performances is one or two a week.

Aloft places its emphasis on local artists, seeking out talent that is on the verge but not yet mainstream, though exceptions to this practice have been made through the occasional booking of big-name acts such as the Plain White T’s.

The events, known as “music moments,” can range from a solo acoustic performance to a miniature rock concert, and vary from location and season.

Aloft also holds musical promotions, such as providing codes for artists’ singles to those that attend events at their location. The brand also works with the Live in the Vineyard music festival that takes place twice a year in Napa Valley, Calif., and features many of the musicians that have been featured at WXYZ bars.

“We approach the artists, but they also come to us,” Francis said.

In 2010, Aloft held the Project: Aloft Star contest, where musicians competed for a chance to perform in a feature spot in Live in the Vineyard, as well as the opportunity to tour throughout Aloft hotels.

nhow Berlin uses music as primary selling point

Some hotels have embraced music conceptually, basing the focus of the hotel around its implementation of music. The nhow Berlin hotel in Germany is one example of an establishment that emphasizes its relationship to music. The music that is played throughout the building is altered frequently in order to match the times of day, and sets the mood based on the date, current events and what events the hotel may be holding at the time.

This approach to music being featured within the hotel has created a niche market for the nhow Berlin, one of the few lifestyle hotels that approach music as their main selling point. The nhow Berlin also approaches music as something more than an adornments for the hotel’s walls and restaurants, housing two recording and mixing studios for bands to record their own music at the hotel. Other hotels, such as The Setai in Miami and the Sunset Marquis in Los Angeles, also offer this feature, leading to more options for musicians looking to book a long-term stay at a hotel while recording an album.

In this vein, a program is available at the nhow Berlin allowing bands to record music of their own and leave the hotel with a CD they just produced. The musical emphasis extends into the guestrooms, where a service is provided that delivers musical instruments to guests.