News
Real Estate/Development
Oct. 18, 2005
Launching an Attack in the Hotel Bed Wars
BY JULIE NAKASHIMA CREJ Staff Writer Luxurious mattresses and downy-soft bedding that cradles one to sleep as though floating on a cloud. Multilayered confections of high-thread-count sheets, bed skirts and duvets.
BY JULIE NAKASHIMA
CREJ Staff Writer
Luxurious mattresses and downy-soft bedding that cradles one to sleep as though floating on a cloud. Multilayered confections of high-thread-count sheets, bed skirts and duvets.
It's no secret that hotel chains have been competing over the lavishness of their beds for some time. But one hospitality chain that's going against the grain is Los Angeles-based Oakwood Worldwide.
The company, which specializes in corporate and extended-stay lodging, is staying out of the bed wars. Instead, to differentiate itself from the competition, it recently debuted a new, more upscale offering it calls the Oakwood Signature Apartment.
According to Steve Selcer, senior vice president of Homes Services and chief financial officer, the new unit reflects a year's worth of research and six months of furnishings selection.
"The Oakwood Signature Apartment is a richer feel than the average corporate apartment out there," Selcer said.
While it does boast an upgraded bed package, including the new Oakwood Dream Bed, and upgraded home furnishings, the apartment offers something none of Oakwood's competitors in the lodging industry can. The walls are decorated with one-of-a-kind photographs taken by Oakwood's head, Howard Ruby, adding a personal touch to an industry that sometimes can offer cookie-cutter experiences.
"Our chairman and founder is a very accomplished photographer," Selcer noted. "We were looking for extra touches to complete the entire feel of the apartment. We were very familiar with Howard's artwork and we felt that it would be a terrific addition."
The framed, digital images are primarily landscapes, such as Mount McKinley or an aerial shot of the Skeleton Coast of Namibia.
"They're taken from locations around the world, from Africa to Yellowstone and points in between," Selcer said.
Oakwood pioneered the corporate housing business, and its customers include relocating executives, employees on temporary assignment, movie production crews filming on location and people who have been forced out of their homes because of catastrophes.
The company's average guest stay is 70 days, Selcer said. Most people don't want to stay in a hotel that long.
"They want to feel more like they're at home," he said. "In a hotel, they don't get multiple rooms. They don't have a kitchen. We have all the comforts of home, including all the amenities of the kitchen."
Ruby hand-selected the photographs for the Signature Apartments himself, Selcer added. As a company, Oakwood is very much a reflection of Ruby's personality, he observed.
"This company is Howard Ruby and vice versa," Selcer said. "So our including some of his personal photography I think fits well."
Pillow Talk
Among other hotel chains, of course, the "bed wars" show no signs of a truce. Marriott, for example, at the beginning of this year announced a "global bedding makeover" in which 628,000 beds at 2,400 hotels worldwide, spanning eight brands, will boast a new, more luxurious look and feel by year's end. The company's higher-end brands - JW Marriott, Marriott and Renaissance - feature 300-thread-count sheets, a thicker mattress, featherbed topper, euroshams and a decorative bed scarf.
According to Bernie Murphy, vice president for the Western Region of The Plasencia Group Inc., a hotel brokerage and consulting firm, Westin threw the punch in this pillow fight when it introduced the "Heavenly Bed."
"They made a big deal of it and it just caught on," Murphy said.
Mark A. Ricci, senior manager of corporate public relations for Westin's parent company, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. of White Plains, N.Y., agreed.
"We started the whole hotel-bedding revolution," Ricci said.
Launched in August 1999, the Westin Heavenly Bed features 10 layers of plush comfort. The all-white ensemble consists of a custom-designed pillowtop mattress, three sheets, a down blanket, a comforter, a crisp white duvet and five pillows, including two king-sized goosefeather/down pillows and a "boudoir pillow."
According to Ricci, the Heavenly Bed was the brainchild of Starwood's former chief executive officer and chairman, Barry Sternlicht.
"He was on a quest, a mission to make our beds at Starwood the most comfortable sleeping experience possible for our guests," Ricci said. "He did a lot of extensive research and traveled extensively during that period, checking out other hotels to see what kind of beds they had. He was determined to make the Heavenly Bed the best in the hospitality business."
Indeed, the bed caused such a sensation that guests soon began asking to purchase and take one home. The hotelier responded with the Westin Heavenly Catalog, featuring not only the beds and linens but also robes, slippers, bath items - even a Heavenly Dog Bed.
More than 7,000 Heavenly Bed ensembles have been sold since the catalog's debut in January 2001, Ricci said. In May, Westin and Nordstrom entered into an agreement to make the Heavenly Bed available at 50 select stores nationwide.
Not to be caught napping, Sheraton, a sister Starwood brand, came out with its own ultra-luxe, custom-designed bed in September 2003. The Sheraton Sweet Sleeper bed features an 11 1/2-inch-thick, high coil-count Sealy Posturepedic Plush Top mattress, sumptuous feather/down and allergenic pillows, and crisp cotton sheets.
Hilton Hotels Corp., Beverly Hills, is going all the way to find the perfect bed. All the way to El Segundo, that is, where the hospitality giant recently launched a newly designed Hilton Technology Room: a fully functioning, continually evolving guestroom "laboratory" designed to gather customer feedback.
Among its features is the king-sized VSS Sleep System, replacing a conventional mattress. A system of slats and air baffles continually adjusts the bed to the contours of the body, enhancing the sleep experience.
Research indicates that people in ordinary beds toss and turn every 90 seconds, according to Andy Keown, a Hilton Hotels spokesman.
"In the VSS Sleep System bed, it adjusts, so that you don't do that tossing and turning," Keown said. "A lot of people go to bed at night and wake up in exactly the same position. It's that comfortable."
So far, out of all the Hilton hotel brands, only the Hilton Garden Inn has adopted the VSS bed. Keown explained that each brand manager is responsible for choosing the brand's bed. For example, Hilton has chosen the Hilton Serenity Bed while Doubletree offers the Sweet Dreams by Doubletree Sleep Experience.
"We have jumped in head first," Keown said.
For bed heads, the emphasis on comfy mattresses is more than just fluff. Murphy, for his part, considers it a brilliant marketing move.
"You go into a hotel room and three-quarters of your field of vision is the bed," Murphy said. "By having these big, fluffy beds with the white coverings, it gives an impression of comfort and cleanliness, and the customer responds.
"Now it's almost the price of entry - everyone has to have a great bed."
- E-mail Julie_Nakashima@DailyJournal.com
CREJ Staff Writer
Luxurious mattresses and downy-soft bedding that cradles one to sleep as though floating on a cloud. Multilayered confections of high-thread-count sheets, bed skirts and duvets.
It's no secret that hotel chains have been competing over the lavishness of their beds for some time. But one hospitality chain that's going against the grain is Los Angeles-based Oakwood Worldwide.
The company, which specializes in corporate and extended-stay lodging, is staying out of the bed wars. Instead, to differentiate itself from the competition, it recently debuted a new, more upscale offering it calls the Oakwood Signature Apartment.
According to Steve Selcer, senior vice president of Homes Services and chief financial officer, the new unit reflects a year's worth of research and six months of furnishings selection.
"The Oakwood Signature Apartment is a richer feel than the average corporate apartment out there," Selcer said.
While it does boast an upgraded bed package, including the new Oakwood Dream Bed, and upgraded home furnishings, the apartment offers something none of Oakwood's competitors in the lodging industry can. The walls are decorated with one-of-a-kind photographs taken by Oakwood's head, Howard Ruby, adding a personal touch to an industry that sometimes can offer cookie-cutter experiences.
"Our chairman and founder is a very accomplished photographer," Selcer noted. "We were looking for extra touches to complete the entire feel of the apartment. We were very familiar with Howard's artwork and we felt that it would be a terrific addition."
The framed, digital images are primarily landscapes, such as Mount McKinley or an aerial shot of the Skeleton Coast of Namibia.
"They're taken from locations around the world, from Africa to Yellowstone and points in between," Selcer said.
Oakwood pioneered the corporate housing business, and its customers include relocating executives, employees on temporary assignment, movie production crews filming on location and people who have been forced out of their homes because of catastrophes.
The company's average guest stay is 70 days, Selcer said. Most people don't want to stay in a hotel that long.
"They want to feel more like they're at home," he said. "In a hotel, they don't get multiple rooms. They don't have a kitchen. We have all the comforts of home, including all the amenities of the kitchen."
Ruby hand-selected the photographs for the Signature Apartments himself, Selcer added. As a company, Oakwood is very much a reflection of Ruby's personality, he observed.
"This company is Howard Ruby and vice versa," Selcer said. "So our including some of his personal photography I think fits well."
Pillow Talk
Among other hotel chains, of course, the "bed wars" show no signs of a truce. Marriott, for example, at the beginning of this year announced a "global bedding makeover" in which 628,000 beds at 2,400 hotels worldwide, spanning eight brands, will boast a new, more luxurious look and feel by year's end. The company's higher-end brands - JW Marriott, Marriott and Renaissance - feature 300-thread-count sheets, a thicker mattress, featherbed topper, euroshams and a decorative bed scarf.
According to Bernie Murphy, vice president for the Western Region of The Plasencia Group Inc., a hotel brokerage and consulting firm, Westin threw the punch in this pillow fight when it introduced the "Heavenly Bed."
"They made a big deal of it and it just caught on," Murphy said.
Mark A. Ricci, senior manager of corporate public relations for Westin's parent company, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. of White Plains, N.Y., agreed.
"We started the whole hotel-bedding revolution," Ricci said.
Launched in August 1999, the Westin Heavenly Bed features 10 layers of plush comfort. The all-white ensemble consists of a custom-designed pillowtop mattress, three sheets, a down blanket, a comforter, a crisp white duvet and five pillows, including two king-sized goosefeather/down pillows and a "boudoir pillow."
According to Ricci, the Heavenly Bed was the brainchild of Starwood's former chief executive officer and chairman, Barry Sternlicht.
"He was on a quest, a mission to make our beds at Starwood the most comfortable sleeping experience possible for our guests," Ricci said. "He did a lot of extensive research and traveled extensively during that period, checking out other hotels to see what kind of beds they had. He was determined to make the Heavenly Bed the best in the hospitality business."
Indeed, the bed caused such a sensation that guests soon began asking to purchase and take one home. The hotelier responded with the Westin Heavenly Catalog, featuring not only the beds and linens but also robes, slippers, bath items - even a Heavenly Dog Bed.
More than 7,000 Heavenly Bed ensembles have been sold since the catalog's debut in January 2001, Ricci said. In May, Westin and Nordstrom entered into an agreement to make the Heavenly Bed available at 50 select stores nationwide.
Not to be caught napping, Sheraton, a sister Starwood brand, came out with its own ultra-luxe, custom-designed bed in September 2003. The Sheraton Sweet Sleeper bed features an 11 1/2-inch-thick, high coil-count Sealy Posturepedic Plush Top mattress, sumptuous feather/down and allergenic pillows, and crisp cotton sheets.
Hilton Hotels Corp., Beverly Hills, is going all the way to find the perfect bed. All the way to El Segundo, that is, where the hospitality giant recently launched a newly designed Hilton Technology Room: a fully functioning, continually evolving guestroom "laboratory" designed to gather customer feedback.
Among its features is the king-sized VSS Sleep System, replacing a conventional mattress. A system of slats and air baffles continually adjusts the bed to the contours of the body, enhancing the sleep experience.
Research indicates that people in ordinary beds toss and turn every 90 seconds, according to Andy Keown, a Hilton Hotels spokesman.
"In the VSS Sleep System bed, it adjusts, so that you don't do that tossing and turning," Keown said. "A lot of people go to bed at night and wake up in exactly the same position. It's that comfortable."
So far, out of all the Hilton hotel brands, only the Hilton Garden Inn has adopted the VSS bed. Keown explained that each brand manager is responsible for choosing the brand's bed. For example, Hilton has chosen the Hilton Serenity Bed while Doubletree offers the Sweet Dreams by Doubletree Sleep Experience.
"We have jumped in head first," Keown said.
For bed heads, the emphasis on comfy mattresses is more than just fluff. Murphy, for his part, considers it a brilliant marketing move.
"You go into a hotel room and three-quarters of your field of vision is the bed," Murphy said. "By having these big, fluffy beds with the white coverings, it gives an impression of comfort and cleanliness, and the customer responds.
"Now it's almost the price of entry - everyone has to have a great bed."
- E-mail Julie_Nakashima@DailyJournal.com
#275270
Julie Nakashima
Daily Journal Staff Writer
For reprint rights or to order a copy of your photo:
Email
Jeremy_Ellis@dailyjournal.com
for prices.
Direct dial: 213-229-5424
Send a letter to the editor:
Email: letters@dailyjournal.com