Rebel Hospitality principal Gene Kornota (snapped at Rebel's Madison Hotel in Memphis), headed to Jamaica for New Year’s, is appealing to Millennials with an unprecedented degree of informality at ACME Hotel Co in River North (below), a Comfort Inn & Suites his firm rebranded two years back. (And he will tell us more tomorrow during Bisnow's Hotel Investment & Repositioning Summit at The Westin Chicago River North, starting at 7am.) That means unscripted language with guests (no more “yes sir”) and in marketing, along with extremely casual conversation, he says. For example, rather than the standard in-room card pleading that you save the whales by reusing towels, ACME’s don’t push. We know you don’t wash your towels every day, they say, and we’d prefer not to either. (But if you’d like to enjoy the luxury, they’re happy to do it.)
Another update is “knock and drop” room service (and complimentary morning coffee delivery), where food is delivered in a brown paper bag with a light knock. It takes away awkward room service delivery situations, Gene says. Millennials can create their own “do not disturb” notes with a wall-mounted chalkboard, and may feel more of a kinship with staff who are encouraged to display piercings, facial hair and tattoos. ACME was also the first hotel in the country to offer Google Glass as an amenity. Given its irreverence, ACME can partner with almost any off-the-wall event (like Baconfest), gaining brand awareness most hotels struggle to achieve and sustain, Gene says.
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