Hotel Honesty

When we were involved with a brand audit for a large hotel group who wanted to understand what its brands stood for, two words never cropped up: sex and party. Despite generations of films, TV and rock and roll suggesting otherwise, not one interviewee in market research nor one executive confessed to the idea that hotels are linked to sex and a good time.

To be honest, if you visit many American hotel brands around the world, you can see that in action. The only sex there is, is one you have to pay for on your telly. And now thinking about it, we didn’t even see any sign of sex at the Aloft hotel in a SecondLife that is rife of naughtiness.

That’s what was refreshing about our stay in trendy-meets-cheap-and-cheerful Hotel Shelley in South Beach, Miami, last week. They’re honest about the sex and partying. In the drinks tray in front of the vodka is three packs of three-pack condoms and the back of the key-card suggests that the hotel room is the perfect place to come back after a night out and carry on the party!

Hotel Shelley