Hoteliers explore new front-desk design options

The front desk itself is simple and sleek. Combining frosted glass with wood and stainless steel accents, it’s contemporary in design and set low so that it’s functional as well; you can take a load off if you want, sitting down on a stool for an espresso while you find out where the local hotspots are. Staff members wear jeans, and don’t be too alarmed if one says goodbye with a high-five.

For those who have never checked in to Groupe Germain’s ALT Hotel Quartier DIX30 in Montreal, the experience at the front desk may be surprising. But then, if you ask Hugo Germain, director of Development for ALT Hotels Canada, guests today aren’t exactly looking for the tried and true, at least when it comes to the staid, structured check-in experiences of yesteryear.

How are spas — with their aura of perceived luxury — faring in this gloomy economy?

In times of economic uncertainty, when consumers and businesses both feel the squeeze, stress levels seem to rise as stock prices fall. And, just when spas and their stress-managing benefits are most needed by the working public, such perceived luxury items are typically the first things to go. For many hoteliers, that’s meant working harder, working smarter and re-thinking marketing and operational strategies to keep their spas profitable.

“We started seeing a dip in occupancy last October,” says Paul Macintyre, general manager of the 122-room Pillar and Post and executive liaison of the three Vintage Hotels spas in the Niagara and Caledon regions of Ontario. The dip was mostly corporate and, “spa was definitely the first thing to go.”