Shorts stay: Hotel introduces swimwear-vending machine

New York – A new vending machine selling boardshorts by the pool offers hotel guests the chance to buy souvenir swimwear at their convenience. The Standard Hotel has collaborated with surfwear brand Quiksilver to create four exclusive designs that will be available from custom vending machines at the hotel’s four locations in Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Hollywood.

The machines feature touch-screen technology and accept credit-card payments; the boardshorts themselves – a winning example of a smart collaboration between a fashion brand and a hospitality brand – come with a list of addresses handwritten on the waistband, directing wearers to five local destinations worth checking out.

As Teknovation’s work for the Mondrian Hotel in Miami also demonstrates, new vending machines and merchandising systems are a cost-effective way of selling products on site, while also offering a certain exclusivity and interest.