LE MÉRIDIEN / STARWOOD HOTELS 2007
THE ROLE OF MUSIC & SOUNDS IN BRAND REVITALIZATION.
"Henri's work was unique, innovative, and inspirational. It contributed to the transformation of the guest experience at Le Meridien, Starwood's international luxury hotel chain."
~ EZ, former global brand leader Le Méridien and W Hotels.
BUSINESS CONTEXT
In 2005, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide acquired Le Méridien, a storied hotel chain of 120 properties created by Air France in 1972, to deliver a taste of French sophistication in the most important cities served by the airline. Over time, this original focus had been lost, and by the time of Starwood’s acquisition, Le Méridien had largely lost its distinctive flavor and cachet. How could the brand of Le Méridien be reinvigorated?
Starwood contacted OSB in early 2007 with the request for an exclusive music program for their guests.
They knew they needed some music and we wanted to differentiate Le Meridien Hotels from other luxury hotels, so we came up with a concept for something original that plays longer than 2 hours ~ a unique 24-hour original composition ~ avoiding the typical lounge music that plays on a loop.
THE INSIGHT AND THE NEW CONCEPT
The luxury hotel industry is awash with espresso machines, high thread-count sheets and décor by renowned interior designers. We know that true differentiation lies in the distinctiveness of the experience that is delivered. We also knew that the first 10 minutes of the guest’s arrival at a hotel is the most crucial and can set the tone for the entire length of stay.
Starwood’s insight for Le Méridien was around the enduring appeal of French sophistication to the creative guest. Le Méridien’s heritage and presence in prime locations in many of the art capitals of the world created the opportunity to offer a distinctive experience for the creative guest ~ one who is curious, modern, well-traveled and eager to discover new things.
This insight provided the framework within which to reconsider all aspects of the hotel experience, with a particular emphasis on unique sensory experiences. The “Unlock Art” program encompassed multiple initiatives, all designed to create a set of experiences that would appeal to the creative guest.
In the “Unlock Art” program, the work of different artists and photographers were displayed, along with a sommelier creating signature cocktails, and chefs like Jean-Georges Vongerichten creating unique dishes.
The program also encompassed more subtle elements that added a sensorial richness to the experience of staying at Le Méridien:
• A singular fragrance being used in all properties, to create a distinctive feeling of familiarity
whenever a guest is at a Le Méridien, no matter where in the world
• Our 24-hour music soundscape that was played at two locations that have a defining impact on the guest’s experience ~ when they first enter the hotel, and in the elevators. The elevator ride in some properties could be as much as 5 minutes long, so we thought that this would be an opportune and captive place where the brand could communicate with its guests and make a statement.
THE MUSIC & SOUNDS CONCEPT
In thinking about the meridian, the line that crosses the earth, we wanted it to be multi-cultural to connect people, with the music mirroring the changing moods and energy of a human being over the course of a day.
We divided the 24 hours in a day into four periods of six hours each. The guest was treated to original melodies overlaid with thousands of natural sounds over the course of the entire soundscape, never repeating within the 24 hours. The four periods are “Water” in the morning, “Forest” in the afternoon, “Markets and Cafés” in the evening, and “Crickets & Campfires” during the night.
The soundtrack involved the layering of three elements ~ music, nature sounds, and voices. The music composition and voices were all original recordings captured in our state-of-the-art studio in New York. Most of the nature sounds were recorded by us on our travels, and the rest were licensed
We were inspired by sounds from the Middle East, Spain, France, Africa, China, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, West Indies, Eastern Europe, to name a few. To preserve the element of surprise and delight, the music was not structured as regular songs with verses and chorus ~ rather, it changed constantly between short interventions and long instrumental improvisations on natural sounds.
Recognizing that Le Méridien’s properties included both urban and resort locations with fundamentally different moods to each, we created alternate versions for each of these scenarios. This was implemented in 120 properties worldwide and ran for 5 years.
THE RESULTS
The initial 10-property program reported such favorable responses from guests that the program was swiftly rolled out to the remaining 110 hotels.
The “Unlock Art” program was a spectacular success, earning Starwood a vast array of press and a number of impressive industry awards:
o Voted number one overall upper scale hotel brand in 2010 by US Business Travel News.
o Le Méridien’s Arrival Experience was named the Most Innovative Concept in the Upscale Hotel Industry (2009 Worldwide Hospitality Awards in Paris)
The commercial results were as impressive:
o Le Méridien’s global average daily rate (ADR) as well as its Revenue per Available Room
(RevPar) indexes in 2011 were the highest in the history of the brand.
CONCLUSION
It is hard to quantify the role played by music & sounds in the renaissance of the storied brand of Le Méridien, but we believe that the guest satisfaction, anecdotal feedback, and new-found loyalty to Le Méridien are indicators of its power. Unsolicited, some guests took the time to research and contact us, to feedback directly, and on many occasions, requested to purchase the complete soundtrack that they identified with their stay. Some also declared their loyalty to the brand and hotel group whenever and wherever they traveled.
As artists, we are proud of our role in the commercial success of the brand and transforming the traditionally awkward elevator ride into a memorable part of the guest’s stay, creating a deep connection between the brand and its customers.
Today, 17 years later, we see that people yearn to connect even more and that the desirable elements in any experience are emotion and the extraordinary.