No Overbuilding For Seattle Hotels (As Long As The Economy's Hot)

Will there be too much supply of hotel rooms in Seattle? The Seattle MSA is among the top five for new development, according to the speakers at our Seattle Hospitality on the Horizon event at Grand Hyatt Seattle recently.

So far, oversupply isn't a problem, since the Seattle economy is hot, and the demand is there for the new rooms. But with the next downturn—and there will be one eventually, since there always is—supply could become an issue in some parts of the market pretty quickly.

Snapped: Sea to Sky Rentals business director Heidi Struber and Coastal Hotels CEO Yogi Hutsen.

Existing hotels are being refurbished in great numbers, to improve the guest experience and be more competitive with newer properties. Among other trends, according to our speakers, carpets are giving way to wooden floors; there's a movement away from closets in favor of shelves; and a trend toward larger, more active public spaces, like you might find in office space. It encourages people to share the space.

Here are American Life president Gregory Steinhauer and Heidi.

Modular construction is something catching on in hotel construction, our speakers said. It used to have a bad name, being synonymous with low-quality construction, but the technique has come a long way.

Now there are manufacturers doing complete guest rooms—all the fixtures and furniture. When the rooms get to the construction site, they're stacked and interconnected. Some of the major hotel brands are now encouraging this kind of construction.

Pictured: The Hotel Group CEO Douglas Dreher.

Our speakers also noted that the vacation rental market is evolving into a cost-conscious market—where the space is anything goes, and people are looking for a unique experience—and a more upscale market. In the case of the latter, high-quality amenities and finishes are just as important to the renters as they would be in a standard hotel. The more upscale rental services, such as Sea to Sky Rentals, are providing what guests want.

Cairncross & Hempelmann attorney Sandip Soli, who moderated, and MG2 principal Ron Mitchell.

Do Millennials want different things in their hotel experience? Not all of our speakers were persuaded that the younger generation wants anything so radically different than Baby Boomers (unlike the event's other panel). Everyone wants a comfortable experience in a good location: a resort location, an interesting urban location, a good location for business—depending on what the guest wants. That isn't a generational issue.

Yogi and 360 Hotel Group EVP Alif Nurani