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Hotel Jen is encouraging guests to discover the areas around its properties after dark. Andrew Doherty learns about the brand’s Night Light programme.
Exploring an unfamiliar destination after dark may be daunting for clients, especially if they aren’t up-to-date with what’s on offer in the area. Hotel Jen, a Shangri-La Hotel sub-brand, has come up with a solution, Night Light, the hotel’s latest guest activity programme.
Marisa Aranha, vice-president sales and marketing at Hotel Jen, explains that after a period of market research, the team realised that “after hours” exploration was something that guests were increasingly interested in.
“One of the key aims of the programme was to ‘leave boring behind’ – often hotels encourage their guests to stay within the building after they have come back from a day out.
“The inspiration for Night Light came from wanting to offer our customers something different and to immerse them in the local area around our properties. Guests often worry that if they ask the concierge or staff, they will be sent somewhere beyond their budget,” says Aranha.
Night Light is accessible via the Hotel Jen website and uses Google maps to highlight what’s on offer locally. This could be anything from bars, restaurants, theatres or late-night shopping districts, which appear on the map as eye catching symbols.
“The main feature of the maps is to collect data in real time around the selected hashtags, #LeaveBoringBehind and #NightLight. We have three tabs on the maps; ‘Touristy Things’, ‘Local Hangouts’ and ‘Jen’s Picks’.”
Aranha explains that the “Local Hangouts” tab includes recommendations from “local influencers” selected by the hotel while “Jen’s Picks” are chosen by the hotel staff. All suggestions are then vetted to ensure guests experience the best of what the destination has to offer.
In the eight weeks since Night Light launched, the US, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and China have emerged as the top five markets interacting with the programme.
Although the UK hasn’t yet made the top of the tables, Aranha says they expect to see a pick up during the peak summer months.
“Engagement has been good; both business and leisure travellers are curious when they see the banner and many are inclined to click on the map. During the first six weeks of Night Light going live we had more than 37,000 clicks on the interactive map and more than 75,000 likes and 30,000 mentions on social media.”
Plans to increase the number of guests taking part in Night Light are underway, says Aranha. Adverts on the portfolio’s website and the hotel’s television network, plus pre-arrival guest emails are already increasing awareness.
Promoting Night Light to the UK trade is just as important, says Aranha.
“All of the Hotel Jen properties have been sending e-shots to our supplier partners and we are ensuring our regional sales office in London is contacting key operators in the UK to make sure we can get the news out via the trade.”
As well as the interactive online maps, activities are also on offer via the Night Light programme. These are specific to each of the Hotel Jen properties, explains Aranha. Each hotel boasts “sunrise” or “sunset” activities to “best compliment” the destination and “highlight a unique feature” of the property.
“We have a fantastic rooftop pool at Hotel Jen Orchardgateway in Singapore where we run sunrise yoga. In Brisbane we have a morning boot camp and in Hong Kong we have an invigorating walk to Victoria Peak after sunset.”
Despite Night Light’s success, Hotel Jen is already looking to the future, with a plan to roll out an art programme this month called “Jen Why Art”.
“We want customers to come to Hotel Jen to discover emerging artists within our destinations. We want clients to realise their own creativity and interact with the experience to learn a little bit more about where they are staying.”
Exciting offerings include a collaboration with a speed painter (an artist who has a set and often short time to complete their artwork) in Penang, an art festival planned for Male and calligraphy lessons scheduled for Manila.
To conclude, Aranha explains that the ultimate aim of Night Light is to alleviate the stress that comes with travel.
“This new generation of travellers wants to go beyond the average business or leisure trip offering. They want to be able to do something different and experience something special,” she adds.
