Perhaps the most difficult parts for everyone involved with creating a product profile for the "niche specific" product is to visualize the ultimate product in its totality. Airport hotels are incredibly unique products demanding inputs from business, leisure and investment extension elements tailored in a fashion that speed of service delivery is enhanced without compromising the high quality. The problem is that often as soon as a profile for a technology based technique is cast, discussed and agreed, it's about time to review it again as technology has trashed that entire the one which was agreed. - ataturk airport hotel
Before one sits down to define a product profile, three key elements have to be kept in mind, "who will use the product", "what are the expectations of the user" and what is the scope of using the principles of "investment extension" to build additional revenue with marginal addition capital infusion. Naturally your planning must address and satisfy each one of these factors, keeping forever in mind "what our competition is offering" which adds a difficult dimension to the task.
Basically, because the term suggests, an airport hotel is employed by travelers, people who use the airport for departing and arriving, those that transit through the city and need accommodation from as short as 4 to 6 hours to in excess of a day, and, the airline crew both cabin and cockpit. It is important to mention all these segments as all have different and specific demand about the product. There is just one more segment; some airport hotels also behave as a filter for the city, filtering the traffic with the airport itself where the guests may stay for as long as three to four days. These are typically those hotels who have an activity zone attached to it or in the close proximity, like an international convention center or perhaps an expo center.
Another important aspect will be the actual location in the hotel in relation to edinburgh airport. Is the hotel found in the terminal building itself, is it attached to the airport having a direct walk way or it can be in close proximity to the airport and could be reached within minutes drive from the airport. All these factors will behave as a base to define the merchandise profile.
Airport hotels also derive their personality from the nature of the airport these are on. Is it a destination airport or perhaps is it a transit hub? Hotels which might be in or linked to the airport or in a close proximity to it, are often low rise buildings which has a horizontal lay out. Although this gives rise to long walk for the rooms, it avoids the vertical transportation by elevators.
Hotel Spaces
An airport hotel should ideally possess a spacious lobby with proportionately larger sitting area than in a city hotel. However care have to be taken to ensure that the therapy lamp generates adequate revenue through providing snacks and beverage service. This acts as a hold spot for sudden arrival of hundreds of passengers on account of cancelled or delayed flight and the ones waiting for the declared check-in time and energy to get their room assigned. Many hotels work on a 24 hour check-in system however, this can put additional pressure on hotels wage bill as housekeeping staff needs to be available in odd shifts. It is preferable for the hotel lobby to provide flight arrival, departure status either on properly positioned TV screens or by using an on-line flight status board linked to the airport system. Those a part of the planning of the hotel must give adequate shown to requirements of a left luggage or luggage hold area. As people stay for a short moment, they may like to carry the over nighter to the room, leaving the heavy boxes together with the bell desk. While this aspect on one hand raises the storage space and security requirements, on the other this helps in reducing stress on bell services and deterioration of carpets and walls.
The check-in experience should be a smooth affair with very little formality as would be required by local law and hotel policy. Many hotels have self check-in automates which record all required information on the guest, assign the area and issues the space key. A guest have to be made aware that on departure, unless he checks-out manually or via the automate, his stay bill is constantly add room rent and charge it to his bank card.
Rooms & Suites
Since an airport hotel provides various segments of users, a perfect hotel will therefore have a very wide offer of accommodation starting from normal rooms and suites to day-use rooms, family rooms with extra, normal or bunkbeds, group lounges with individual settee cum beds, studio rooms, rooms with work cum sleep possibility as well as the list ends where our imagination ends. The standard of accommodation, irrespective of its type assumes paramount importance because guest arrives after having a long flight, tired, different time zone hence having an unadjusted bio-clock, expecting a very smooth and straight forward in room knowledge of high tech yet friendly operations of various facilities. The rooms must be totally noise pollution free with capability of attaining total darkness for sound sleep even throughout the day.
While the rooms of your airport hotel are not any different than the normal city hotel, it's high in technology in security and billing aspect. For example the door lock might be biometric, video enabled door bell, electronic safe with biometric lock, TV with pay channel, mini bar with direct billing for the guest folio, paid high speed internet, to list a few. Hotels with express 4-hour laundry and dry cleaning service report higher revenues as opposed to normal 24 hour service. Many hotels provide an alarm in the room, care should be taken that these clocks are electronic and never battery operated to ensure correct time. A hotel can be held answerable for a guest missing his flight when the clock in the room displays wrong time.
Restaurants, Bars and Entertainment Facilities
A highly planned airport hotel will need to have a large buffet restaurant serving international cuisine. The restaurant timings would ideally depend upon the operating hours of the airport. In addition to this there must be at least one or two specialty cuisine fine dining restaurants. The bar should ideally certainly be a lounge bar where individuals in small groups could have a drink. A well planned night club or discotheque could complete the dining and entertainment offer with the hotel.
It is observed that hotels with self dispensing automates on every floor stocked with quick cold bites, bottled drinks and other eatables record good revenues during odd service hours. Automates also take some load off the otherwise busy room service.
Meetings and Conference Facilities
Airport hotels in transit hubs could do very well with a battery of conference and meeting rooms copied with a well equipped business centre. Travelling executives could utilize their transit amount of time in conducting business meetings. Cities like Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Singapore, among others are examples of best transit hubs.
Recreational Facilities
Regarding leisure or recreation facilities, there is a mixed view through the profitability angle. However hotels with a gym, sauna, Turkish and massage facilities do very well in transit locations where people want to utilize the short time at hand and get rejuvenated for the following lag of the trip.
An airport hotel must insurance policy for a small kiosk open 24 / 7 with items generally required by a traveler, genera throughout the counter medicines and souvenirs.
At the conclusion of the day, Airport hotels enjoy good volume utilization for the majority of periods in a year. Investment in an airport hotel now offers investment extension possibilities in related areas like aboard catering services, lounge management and onsite food and beverage operations. - ataturk airport hotel