Hospitality Now Gensler’s Tom Ito

Hospitality Now: Trends for the Resurgence of Travel

Converstation with Tom Ito, Gensler’s Global Hospitality Leader

BY DIANA VASQUEZ

DDuring the pandemic one of the most affected industries was travel. In 2019, before the pandemic stopped travel in its tracks, the travel and tourism sector generated nearly $9.2 trillion to the global economy.

However, in 2020, the pandemic brought the sector to an almost complete standstill, causing a massive 49.1% drop, representing a severe loss of nearly $4.5 trillion. According to major new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council, the global travel and tourism sector’s contribution to the global economy could reach $8.6 trillion this year, just 6.4% behind pre-pandemic levels. 2022 is poised for a strong recovery if governments continue to open up and remove restrictions to travel. In the world of hospitality, Gensler’s Tom Ito has his finger on the pulse. Ito launched Gensler’s Hospitality practice in the late 1990s with the renovation of the Beverly Hills Hotel. He has since expanded his practice to an international scale, leading complex mixed use, entertainment, master-planning and hotel projects across the U.S. and throughout the world. Ito has a comprehensive understanding of complex lifestyle projects and an ability to deliver outstanding guest experiences. His work includes the 18-million-square-foot CityCenter in Las Vegas; the award-winning Shore Hotel, a LEED-certified luxury oceanfront resort in Santa Monica; and the Westin Denver International Airport — the first Platinum LEED-certified airport hotel in the U.S. Additionally, Ito’s other notable projects include Metropolis, a mixed-use development consisting of a hotel, residences, office and retail spaces in the heart of downtown Los Angeles and the Waldorf Astoria, Beverly Hills. What are the biggest trends impacting hospitality operators over the next five years? The leisure segment is going to foster the rebound, along with local destination travel. Hotels will accommodate our changing lifestyles as people have the ability to be in resort locations while working. We’re seeing spaces that are a lot more conducive to people who can work remotely. We’re also seeing an extension of the longer stay and branded residences as people are looking to live and work in beautiful places. Are travelers looking for anything different in the hotel brands they’re considering? The zest for experience is still key. We’re integrating art and culture into our projects to make them more meaningful. It’s important that we create unique experiences for hotels that are embedded in the locality. So, a hotel in Arizona might be different from a project in Costa Rica or London because each locale has its own unique character, history, available materials and textures.

We’re also seeing some great local ecotourism. This whole notion of glamping—being in nice places, and being outdoors, but also being very comfortable—that’s a new type of destination-driven experience that we’re seeing moving forward. What changes or practices have hotels incorporated as a result of the pandemic? And do you think those practices will stay or change as people resume travel? Hotels were already using technology, but they’re embracing it even more to respond to guests' desire for more frictionless devices to navigate their journey. Among the important challenges that operators are facing are staff shortages. It’s important for a hotel to have the right proportion of staff to guests. Technology is being used to bridge that gap by offering solutions that can create a more personalized, enhanced guest experience while improving efficiency by allowing staff to better use their time to connect with guests. How is Gensler working with hospitality brands to address issues around sustainability and climate change? We’re always looking for ways to construct buildings that

reduce a hotel’s carbon footprint, such as sustainable materials and construction technologies. We also like to design spaces with passive solutions, such as daylighting and access to the outdoors. We’re also looking at ways to mitigate the use of plastic and use more environmentally-friendly amenities. Another key sustainability strategy is adaptive reuse and repositioning. That’s playing out in developments that are underutilized or not in high demand, such as office space, department stores, or retail centers being converted to hotels, residential, or mixed-use developments. Repurposing buildings helps maximize the use of a project and mitigate any other long-term effects in constructability, because you’re utilizing an existing structure and repurposing it. What are the top amenities travelers are looking for in hotels today? One of the biggest amenities is food and beverage. You can have great dining experiences in various places in a hotel— not necessarily in a sit-down restaurant, but in a nice lounge setting, outdoor spaces, and even in your room. The whole notion of guest room dining has changed. Health and wellness amenities are also huge. Not only eating healthy, but feeling healthy and fit in areas that provide you with healthy activities. We’re also seeing integration of technology or products that guests can use to exercise in their room. The other thing we’re going to see is the elevated role of hotels in the community. We often think of hotels now as a third place where people will go to work, and that’s spurring new types of guest demands. Hotels are not only servicing guests who are transient, but also those who are going to do an overnight stay or have a great meal, meet with people or socialize. It raises another revenue stream for our clients because they can rely on that local travel, on that community, to engender a lot more business. Post-pandemic, where do you see the next wave for hotels? I believe the greatest growth opportunity in hospitality is embracing technology even further. It’s not only about efficiency, but driving better social and guest interactions. The idea of connected experiences—the convergence of the physical and digital together along with the total guest journey—is where we’re headed. A great example is the new Atari Hotels project launching in Las Vegas. We’re using the building’s façade to play a game on. Guests can create their own personal avatar as they enter the building. It’s a way of moving the Atari brand forward to create a new experience. That’s the ultimate way of integrating technology and digital to interact with guests.

SurfSimply Hotel in Costa Rica. Photo by Andres Garcia Lachne

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