Hotel News ME talks to a number of suppliers of in-room accessories and hears about the competitive nature of their industry and how they are meeting the demands driven by the latest trends in the sector.
- What is your best-selling product?
Robert Dupree: ADA Pacific Direct has a niche brand boutique of products of which our most popular are our liquids and soap ranges.
Floris Luxury Hotel Collection is a range of elegant bottles and pleat-wrap soap, featuring the brand’s bestselling fragrance Cefiro, perfectly suited for men and women, with crisp lemon and lime, warmed by spicy notes of cardamom on a fresh floral jasmine heart, leading to a clean, musky and woody base.
Our latest product launch is the Chopard Sparkling Indulgence range, this luxurious guest collection captivates with a distinctive design signature.
Anne Low: Molton Brown is the best selling range for us.
Farah Aslam: The most popular are Jo Malone, Roberto Cavalli and Etro due to the fact that some of them are able to provide bespoke concepts and maintain their niche luxury status.
Mohammad Muwafi: The miniBar DM50 is our best-seller.
Rachael Towl: We have partnerships with some of the world’s leading brands, including Salvatore Ferragamo, Aromatherapy Associates and Tara Smith; however the best-selling product format, no matter what the brand, is always shampoo and shower gel.
Claudia Barua: The liquid amenities are our best selling products such as shampoo, conditioner, bath gel, body lotion and soaps. We have a wide variety of luxury, premium and value range amenities that best suit all the hotels and resorts. Currently, Charlotte Rhys, a luxury brand from Cape Town, and Fresh our own UPI brand is our best selling.
- What is unique about it?
Dupree: Amouage is a lifestyle sought after by only the most sophisticated and discerning international consumer. Today, it has a stellar following around the world including royals, global leaders and some of the most celebrated names in film, television, fashion, sport and music.
Low: It is still made in the UK and the room accessories are made to the same high formulation quality as the retail product. So whatever you buy in the shop is the same for the hotel guest’s experience.
Aslam: These brands have an awareness in the market, as they keep launching new perfumes and fashion collections. They like to provide an exclusive collection for each property, which make the hotel feel very unique. The brands have a strong presence in the market and the luxurious brands makes the guest feel special and enhance their experience.
Muwafi: The miniBar DM50 incorporates two refrigerated compartments, a small one for miniature bottles and snacks, a large one for bottles and cans and a unique design with automatic slide-out for mini bottles and snack trays.
Towl: Guest Supply provides products that enhance the hotel guest experience in more than 28,000 hotels in over 100 countries. For three decades, hoteliers have depended on our unique combination of industry experience, service, manufacturing, global sourcing, distribution and product design and development. As a global provider to the hospitality industry, Guest Supply maintains relationships with leading hotels around the world through our offices in the UK, USA, Canada, Dubai and Hong Kong.
Barua: Charlotte Rhys has an elegant simplistic look with a refreshing fragrance, it’s a well-known brand from Cape Town. Fresh, another product, has a delightful freshly cut grass fragrance, an ideal product for hotels that want quality and an attractive price.
- What is the most important feature of the perfect in-room accessory?
Dupree: The most important features are product quality and safety. Hotels want to provide their guests with a perfectly satisfying product experience in every detail, from fragrance, texture and colour to packaging. With the high quality and variety of our hotel amenities ADA Pacific Direct aims to offer a “feel-good factor” in its most enriching form.
Low: Quality and consistency is key when it comes to providing an in-room accessory.
Aslam: The perfect in-room accessories should reflect the hotel’s philosophy and concept and create the perfect sense of place and best guest experience. The colours and designs need to match with the image of the property. For example, if the property is Arabian inspired we would align it with a brand that can depict that heritage and offer a sense of place while incorporating fragrances that are valued regionally such as sandalwood, oud, vetiver, jasmine or a bespoke combination.
Towl: When creating bathroom collections, it is important for the formulation and fragrance to not only reflect the brand that we are representing, but also to be of the highest quality and ideally cater for both male and female guests. Product packaging is another key element and at Guest Supply we pledge to match the ambience of the hotel with a guest collection that reflects its style and overall guest experience.
Barua: A good looking product made out of good ingredients, at an attractive price, from a vendor who keeps stock at all times.
- What are the latest in-room accessory trends?
Dupree: There are two main trends: First, the ongoing trend for luxury retail brands available in hotel amenities. Second the growing popularity of green hotel cosmetics. ADA Pacific Direct is able to meet both of these trends.
Low: We still notice that customers want recognisable brands for their guests to enjoy and give them a luxury experience. There is also a move towards more environmentally sound products at a more cost effective price.
Aslam: The general trends are niche luxury brands that tell a story for your guest. Mass market “off the shelf” brands are passé and guests are looking for something that has personality and will create a unique experience for them.
We have aligned ourselves with brands such as Roberto Cavalli, Roja Dove, Etro, Jo Malone, Bottega Veneta that are willing to develop bespoke concepts that stay true to the brand while providing a sense of home, adding that local flair.
Having a branded product is not enough, it must be taken to the next level in terms of fragrances, designs and packaging.
Muwafi: We can see a trend towards more design driven products, be it mini bars, safes or our winecellars. Hotels are looking into creating a memorable and unique guest experience. The room needs to offer something which is different from what people are used to seeing.
This will make hotel guests talk about their positive experience at a specific hotel.
Towl: Research indicates that there is a clear shift in the region towards the requirement of mid-market hotel rooms. The opportunity to expand our business via a market sector that is clearly underdeveloped is very exciting for Guest Supply. The potential for growth from the emerging middle class markets (India, Africa and China), combined with budget millennial travellers from around the world mean that the UAE will become an increasingly vibrant city catering to tourists from varying walks of life who will bring their own flair to this already incredible city.
Barua: The current trend in the hospitality is for organic and eco-friendly products. The clients are aware of the ingredients put in these amenities which is why our products are eco-friendly.
- What type of hotel operations do you cater for?
Dupree: ADA Pacific Direct caters for all hotel ratings but specialises in the luxury five-star market.
Low: We cater for hotels from the three-star to five-star luxury categories and across different departments from housekeeping, spas and health clubs to F&B for small room amenities to bulk refills for public areas.
Aslam: We work closely with the luxurious properties, mostly five-star properties. These hotels usually like to develop bespoke concepts and portray uniqueness.
Muwafi: The Dometic Group manufactures its mini bars in its own factories. We have different production facilities in Europe and China that matches with the end user’s needs to guarantee that the investment becomes an immediate success.
Towls: We cater for all hotels requiring amenities in the region, from mid-scale to luxury.
- What maintenance services do you offer your clients?
Low: We offer a full service from storage to monthly deliveries. We have an after-sales service for all of our products in the Middle East to ensure they are in tip-top condition.
Aslam: We like to support our clients in term of logistics and delivery, in fact, we handle all our clients’ storage and deliver them as per their request directly to the property.
Muwafi: The Dometic Group is locally based in the Middle East through exclusive and long term partners in the region guaranteeing local representation for sales, support, maintenance and service during the entire life cycle of the units.
Towls: We have efficient deliveries of product and consistent follow up in terms of after-sales service.
Barua: We provide 48 hours of delivery from the date of PO on stock items. Having our own warehouse, delivery team, customer service reps and operations manager this makes it possible.
