Ostende isn’t the prettiest of seaside towns but Hope and I enjoy taking our carnaval break here every year, and that’s in great part due to the amazing Upstairs hotel.
I mean, which child and parent (especially a single mom) would not fall in love with a hotel that has a slide in its common area? On top of MANY other fun activities – see pics.
As a passionate retail designer, here are 3 lessons I feel retail could take from this hotel:
1. Looks yes… but with depth!
I’ve seen my share of design hotels and beautiful stores. Of course, I always appreciate nice aesthetics, but I sometimes feel some concepts favour looks and then lack soul & human appeal. What I love in this design is that on top of being eye-catching and crafted all the way down to the smallest details, there is a quirkiness which brings a more familiar and human feel. I also love how they have applied storytelling/ conversational signage, something which a lot of brands don’t use enough yet in my mind, but which can be so impactful in crafting a customer/ brand connection.
2. Service, service, service!
As part of my research on « valuable in store experiences », I asked customers what they valued the most in physical shops. The answers in order of priority: SERVICE, physical environment and last product. This again shows how the role of the physical store has evolved with the growth of online/ mobile platforms. People will first and foremost value human service. Not a bot, a chat window or an outsourced call center, but pure eye-to-eye human connection at the right moment in their customer journey! It seems to me that recently retailers are cutting budgets for their in store staff and I can’t help but fear this is bad math. Upstairs offers some of the best hotel service I’ve ever experienced and it completely impacts how I see it.
3. A seamless omnichannel experience
Upstairs is also exemplary at owning every detail of its customers’ journey from the booking process to post visit evaluations. Yes, it operates on Booking as most others but its offers are better on its own site. Once the reservation is made customers receive the *right amount* of emails to confirm details, but also provide useful tips for the trip: train discounts, information about the town, activities, etc. It all feels effortless and it creates trust! An immensely powerful tool in the brand/ customer relationship. You start becoming a fan, and in turn you could even consider purchasing merchandising from the hotel > another smart move from them. So, how could retailers review their customer touchpoints to ensure such a seamless customer journey?
I certainly know I’ll be back! And isn’t this what retailers also wish to achieve with their physical stores?
Happy to hear your thoughts! Get in touch and let’s open a discussion on this or any other retail related topic you may wish to explore.
