Key development:
Le Meridien’s room keys
get a makeover.
Rebranding efforts are nothing
new, but the program under way at Le Meridien aims to be
the most inventive of the lot. The Starwood brand recently formed
LM100, a team of a dozen handpicked, high-profile figures from the
contemporary art and media worlds, to reconceive the guest
experience.
LM100’s brain trust, which will balloon
to 100 people in the next few years, is led by art critic and
independent curator Jerome Sans. “My role is to help develop
creative experiences for guests, which are designed to encourage
new perspectives,” Sans explains. “I’m helping the brand find
curators from all different disciplines, from fashion to food to
music.”
One initiative currently under way in
several locations is the “Unlock Art” program, in which guests are
presented with artist-designed plastic key cards that double as
complimentary admission to a local art museum or cultural
institution. And, like other brands, Le Meridien also is working to
improve the arrival experience for guests and has developed an
onslaught of visual art, sounds and scents to greet travelers as
they walk through the front door.
According to Eva Ziegler, senior vice
president of Le Meridien, the team is developing a creative meeting
initiative that will be ready in 2009. “It won’t be just decor on
the table. We’ll start with redesigning the whole space, from the
walls to the lighting,” she notes. The team plans to spice up
meeting breaks, too, with special brain food, coffee tastings and
chocolate/coffee pairings.