Mihit Patel was a delegate at TOPHOTELWORLDTOUR London 2020. (Photo by Rahul Venkit)
Yotel is a tech-focused brand, which helps the small hotel group be at the forefront of adaptability, says Mihit Patel, former Senior Analyst, Business Development (EMEA) at Yotel.
With 14 hotels across three brands, Yotel, YotelAir and YotelPad had 19 hotels spread across the globe as of February 2020.
Mihit Patel, former Senior Analyst, Business Development (EMEA) at Yotel, spoke exclusively to TOPHOTELNEWS about the “yo generation” hotel group’s USPs on the sidelines of TOPHOTELWORLDTOUR London 2020, which took place on February 6 at the Conrad St James.
On what makes Yotel the exciting brand it is
Patel: The Yotel brand is a new concept and we have been around for eight years. But we’re very adaptable to new guest profiles. Guests now need so little in comparison to what they did before and we aim and strive to provide that — everything that they need.
We have three brands: Yotel, YotelAir and YotelPad. YotelAir is smaller, capsule type hotels, which are trading extremely well across Europe and Asia. Yotel is our city brand, which is getting a lot of traction as well. Our extended stay brand is YotelPad which is mainly in the U.S. at the moment: condo hotels in Miami, Park City and so on. So we’re trying to bring that brand over to the UK and see how we can best fit it and then we’ll roll it out into Europe.
Where does Yotel see hotel development opportunities?
Patel: Yotel Dubai Downtown was scheduled to open in 2020. But we’ve seen that the Middle Eastern market has taken a big knock. There’s a lot of supply coming in and the market, in a way, is saturated now. Even though tourist demand has increased, we’ve seen demand for hotels decreasing while hotels aren’t getting any smaller in terms of room count.
In Europe itself, we’re finding locations like Paris very interesting because it does suit the Yotel brand. There’s a lot of independent hotels there and Yotel actually plays well to it. So fitting in smaller bedrooms, smaller room counts, we can make it work and that’s why we’re finding Paris exciting. Madrid is another market, as well as Milan that we’re actively looking at. And Germany of course is always going to be there, but the model is a leased model. Whereas we are typically hotel managers and have management contracts.
On Yotel’s tech-focussed seamless guest experience
Patel: We see ourselves as a cool brand that caters not only to millennials but also to the “yo generation.” We are a very tech focused brand, and that’s the way the wider market’s moving. Since we’re at the forefront of technology, we’re adaptably and it allows for a seamless guest experience. For traditional brands, it’s a lot harder to adapt and move quickly. I think that’s why in the future we will be seeing a lot more Yotels with a lot more technology inside them and providing a seamless guest experience, which ultimately is what the hotel industry is.
Thoughts on TOPHOTELWORLDTOUR
Patel: I think it was really great: the networking side and the talks at the beginning were great. Also the market knowledge; seeing what the key markets are. I think meeting a lot of different people in different industries gives a different scope. I could also ask people what they think of the Yotel brand, if they’ve heard of it, and if they would ever stay in it.
Mihir Patel was a delegate at TOPHOTELWORLDTOUR London 2020. To attend, address or sponsor our boutique hospitality networking events around the world, contact the TOPHOTELPROJECTS team.
Inspired by the luxury of first class travel and uncompromisingly designed around guests, YOTEL takes the essential elements of luxury hotels into smaller, smart spaces and deliver a sense of community.
