With today's airline baggage restrictions and cramped cabin seating, travelling light makes more and more sense. A new service from Dubai-based Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts helps travellers do just that by allowing them to pre-order items from the hotel's retail offerings and have them waiting in their room when they arrive.
Founded in 1997, Jumeirah operates hotels in Dubai, London and New York, as well as 14 retail stores within those hotels. The company's new pre-arrival service allows guests to choose from a range of personal-care products in the online Jumeirah Collection—including sunscreen, toothpaste and baby wipes by familiar brands—as well as a selection of books by current authors for entertainment. Orders are wrapped and left in guests' rooms before they arrive, and the cost of the products is simply added to the room charge.
Parents of young children in particular would doubtless appreciate a wider range of products to choose from, including bulky items such as diapers and more items for kids, but Jumeirah's concept is a good one. Items in its retail collection are priced in a manner befitting the hotels' luxury clientele, so the pre-arrival service will enhance not just customer convenience but also the profitability of each guest stay. Other hotels: time to start thinking ahead! (Related: Helping parents travel lighter.)
Website: www.jumeirahcollection.com/PreArrival.aspx
Contact: retail@jumeirah.com
Email to friendPrevious: In-store wave riding «
Next: Buy one house, give one free »
Have you checked out the prices? $12 for a toothbrush & $8 for a tube of Crest toothpaste... WOW!
this could be a great thing, but hotels cannot get greedy about it. they have to charge actual cost and a small handling fee.
frankly, i am sick and tired of hotels, particularly the luxury hotels, charging so much for beneficial services. as a frequent hotel user, i'd be willing to pay a bit more for a room in exchange for: free valet parking, free basic laundry service, etc. i don't need a complimentary continental breakfast, and i don't need a complimentary lunch in their restaurant or high tea in their lounge (when i am travelling i am usually not hanging around the hotel during the day) as a perk.
i think this type of service could be outsourced to a third-party company, allowing the costs to be minimized to the hotel and to the hotel patron.
The sheer labor costs of offering many of these services are what is inflating the cost to the guests. A less expensive alternative might be automating and upgrading the vending systems. Zoom Systems (http://www.zoomsystems.com/index.html) and others could significantly improve on-floor retail for hotels.
those high prices leave room for competition as i sure would like some extras as i am a speaker (aka road warrior like many other Springwise readers)
Have you checked out the prices? $8 for a tube of Crest toothpaste! WOW.
iverge | February 9, 2008 8:37 PM