Last fall Hilton Worldwide’s Hampton Hotels brand launched the Forever Young Initiative, focused on updating the hotel’s design for the emerging Millennial traveler market.　

　　Last fall Hilton Worldwide’s Hampton Hotels brand launched the Forever Young Initiative, focused on updating the hotel’s design for the emerging Millennial traveler market.

　　The new look included upgraded guestrooms, guest baths and exterior design elements. For new-builds, the core elements of Forever Young Initiative will also become part of construction standards.

　　To find out how the rollout is progressing in light of how the brand is performing —Hampton Hotels reported 69.9% occupancy, US$110.49 ADR and US$77.76 RevPAR for 2013 — HOTELS spoke with Kurt Smith, vice president, product quality and innovation, for Hilton Worldwide’s focused service brands.

　　HOTELS: What makes the Millennial traveler different?

　　Kurt Smith: When it comes to the basics of a hotel stay, they are not that different. They want a clean, comfortable room, friendly people, places to socialize, plugs for devices and strong Wi-Fi.

　　However, they view things through a different lens. They are more design-savvy and they have a more discerning eye. They are also more conscious of localization.

　　HOTELS: There are reports out there about how brand-agnostic the Millennials are. How can hotel companies garner their loyalty?

　　Smith: I think some of it is where they are in life. Traveling on leisure with their level of income, their loyalty is more to their wallet than somebody’s brand. They’re looking for the best deal for the amenities they want, and I think that rate drives quite a bit of their decision-making. But if they buy into you as a brand, they will be loyal.

　　HOTELS: What measures of Forever Young appeal to Millennials and why?

　　Smith: We learned that the exterior of the building did not appeal, so freshened it up with new paint schemes, a new porte-cochère, a new roofline and lighting. Inside the hotel, all hotels have updated lobbies, fitness center and corridors. In the guestroom, we really focused on the soft seating and convenience of electric outlets. One thing we learned from Millennials is that they have a lot of things they are bringing that we need to allow them to plug in.

　　HOTELS: What is the cost per key of Forevery Young and what cost-saving measures did Hilton implement?

　　Smith: Cost per key is a little bit tricky to tabulate, as it is going to vary significantly based on your current hotel. The exterior can vary quite a bit depending on the type of roof you have. Likewise in the guestrooms, if you need to replace case goods, it ranges quite a bit. Our target was that if you had to do absolutely everything, we are under US$25,000 per key.

　　HOTELS: What is the rollout timeline for Forever Young?

　　Smith: There is no deadline that we say every hotel has to be done on the Forever Young Initiative timeline at this specific time. If we relicense the hotel, that is when these elements would kick in. Likewise if hotel is sold, the new owner must implement the new design also if hotel wants to renovate, they would be required to meet these elements.

　　HOTELS: What has the reaction been among franchisees?

　　Smith: We’ve seen a lot of interest in hotels that want to relicense now. The feedback from owners has been extremely positive. They like the end result, they like what they’ve seen. It has stirred up a lot of interest in updating the hotel. - See more at: http://www.hotelsmag.com/Industry/News/Details/49967?loginSuccess#sthash.kmOEdeKz.dpuf