It is increasingly common to find a building in which different uses are shared aimed at different customer targets, or different brands within it, facilitating segmentation. Just as in retail you can find “multitarget” stores that share certain back-office services (while the customer perceives them as independent concepts), similar cases can be identified in the hotel field. Today we are investigating this topic, which could be a source of business development opportunities.
Multitarget within the accommodation
The obvious case that comes to mind are hostels, cheap budget-type accommodation that have been progressively expanding their range of services to reach other types of clients, beyond their initial audience made up mainly of young backpackers. Many now offer apartments, en-suite double or family rooms, and almost standard hotel-level amenities, and are able to combine these different uses within the establishment. An example of this case would be the Meininger Hotel Wien Hauptbahnhof.
According to trends in the design of common areas, a modern, relaxed environment is perceived here, where open spaces and interaction between users predominate. It is possible to hold informal work meetings, chat with people you don’t know, or enjoy relaxing moments reading a good book or in front of the computer. Although guests share the common area, the accommodation offers different options depending on your budget and the desired experience.
An additional advantage for the entrepreneur is the possibility of reducing the effect of seasonality, which can be different depending on the type of client.
Mixed-use buildings
On the other side, are the most spectacular examples of mixed-use buildings, which can house one or several hotel types. Many are emerging around commercial uses, since their scale allows for a certain spectacularity in the proposals. For example, the image that illustrates this article belongs to the Yas Viceroy hotel in Abu Dhabi, which has been built on a Formula 1 circuit, the Yas Marina. The project is the work of the New York studio Asymptote, and articulates its almost 500 rooms in two 12-story towers on the circuit connected by a glass bridge over the circuit, which houses a night club.
A less extreme example is fthe NH Tango (Buenos Aires), which occupies the building of the old Metro cinema on Avenida 9 de Julio and a few meters from the Obelisk. The rehabilitation of the building, carried out by the Urgell-Penedo-Urgell studio, transformed the cinematographic space into a Tango room, combining this use with a boutique hotel establishment on the upper floors.
As we have seen, it is increasingly common to find mixed uses or multitarget products (flexible developments for different types of audience). What will be the next trend to emerge?
