UK – Brown’s Hotel in London’s Mayfair has unveiled a new, entirely shoppable Sir Paul Smith Suite featuring a range of furniture, artworks and soft furnishings from the new Paul Smith home collection. Brown’s Hotel is a part of the Rocco Forte Hotels group and the suite was created in collaboration with its design director, Olga Polizzi, with the aim of offering guests a creatively inspirational stay.
Renowned designer Smith designed the space himself while drawing on the hotel’s history as the residence of notable literary guests including Rudyard Kipling, who completed The Jungle Book there in 1894. The suite features customised and vintage furniture, hand-picked art and a small library of design books selected by Smith himself. Sofas, tables and leather goods from his Everyday Life collection, as well as rugs, lamps and photographic prints can all be purchased. ‘I’m so pleased we’ve been able to include objects that inspire me personally and I hope, in turn, they’ll inspire the suite’s guests,’ says the designer.
But what price is inspiration? A stay at the Paul Smith Suite is priced from £5,500 ($6,776, €6,255), meaning this particular branded hospitality experience is targeted at a luxury guest. Nevertheless, this collaborative process shows how the hospitality sector’s post-pandemic comeback involves innovation – particularly through brand collaborations – a strategy we’ve explored in our report on how Hotels are the New Frontiers for Brands.
Strategic opportunity
Creating a take-home tier is not just applicable to the luxury travel sector but across the board of hospitality experiences; this additional level of experience can extend the reach of a brand into the customer’s home, making it synonymous with a good memory – and cementing travel as an extended experience.