SPECIAL REPORT: LAND USE
Room with a view
Peta Tomlinson discovers that hotels are fast becoming a must have asset for Asia-Pacific airports.
A
irport hotels are a mighty clever concept. Whether arriving early to kick off a special holiday, breaking up a long-haul route or for unplanned overnighting, there’s a lot to love about the idea of a comfy bed within, or near, the airport’s grounds.
You might think they wouldn’t have to try too hard: that customers of
airport hotels are there for a reason, and often only for a short time. So aren’t they a captive audience? On the contrary, says Dave Horton, global head, Hilton Hotels & Resorts
brand, which operates 69 airport properties worldwide. “While this may have been true many years ago, the airport hotels
of today have evolved into much more than convenient layovers for business travellers. Today this segment is competitive and travellers are more discerning.” Competition within the airport hotel category can be fierce, notes Horton,
as major airports around the world often have upwards of five hotels within walking distance from any terminal. “These hotels need to be compelling enough in design, amenities,
dining and service to appeal to busy travellers and keep them coming back. It is no longer good enough to simply be conveniently located, clean and safe,” says Horton. “Business travellers have an even increased desire to unwind after a day
of meetings or to enjoy a memorable meal in a dining space with a sophisticated atmosphere. They want a well-rounded hotel experience.” Australia-based Peter Hook, a spokesman for Accor, agrees airport
hotels need to be much more than just transit hotels. “In cities such as Sydney, whole industries have developed around the airport precinct and so airport hotels service as much the local industry as they do transiting passengers,” he comments. “Our new Novotel Brisbane Airport, for instance, is part of a major
re-development of the Brisbane Airport area and is also at the gateway to both the Sunshine and Gold Coasts, making it very convenient for conferences and events.” Hook estimates that up to 50% of business at the brand’s Brisbane and
Sydney airport hotels, and increasingly in Melbourne, is not specifically related to people flying. The slipstream of opportunity around the airport precinct is compelling for chains like Accor, which has three hotels under development at Indira Gandhi–Delhi Airport, and a Novotel and Formule 1 under development at Auckland Airport. “They are the key ones, and we will continue to look closely at all other
airport hotel opportunities,” says Hook. “Besides offering good business opportunities, they act as powerful brand promotional tools to a very targeted and proven market of travellers.”
56 AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2011 It’s a two-way street, according to IHG Group, operator of seven airport
hotels across Asia-Pacific under the brands InterContinental, Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza – including the award-winning Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, Singapore, boasting direct access to Terminal 3. Paul Logan, IHG’s vice president for development, says having a high-quality, internationally-branded hotel close to or a part of an airport can help to boost its reputation in offering world-class accessibility and services. The want or need to stay near one’s mode of transportation seems
ingrained in travellers’ psyche. In the late 19th century, the growth of the transcontinental rail network saw new hotels springing up at virtually every major terminus in Europe. By the early 1920s, as Americans began hitting the roads in their new Model T Fords, Los Angeles architect Arthur Heineman, seeing an opportunity to give them a place to rest for the night, built the first motel (short for motor hotel). For the record, it was called the Milestone Motel and it opened in San Luis Obispo, California, on December 12, 1925.
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