Aiming For the Luxury "Sweet Spot" On Central Park South
The Park Lane Hotel, with a prime location near the likes of The Ritz-Carlton, Jumeirah Essex House and Mandarin-Oriental, saw a chance to grab customers from those top-of-market properties. The hotel redid its top seven floors a year ago - overhauling corridors and rooms to make them fresher and with higher quality furnishings.

That worked well enough so that the hotel is now doing an additional five floors for a total of 180 rooms out of 564. With these floors at the top of the 46-story hotel, they provide striking views in every direction. Plus:

  • Guests enjoy complimentary: continental breakfast via room service or in the restaurant; cappuccino at any time.
  • Cocktails at Harry's Bar s in the evening; pressing of one item a day;
  • Specific newspaper on request;
  • Interent access and calls (including international); and a meeting room.

They also get express check-in and checkout.


The rate difference from "regular rooms" can be significant - but remain well below those luxury brands. If a guest takes advantage of all those extras, they would more than make up the difference (breakfast alone is $25.)

We spoke to Ray Keane, the Park Lane's director of marketing, about the strategy and how it's worked. Here's what he had to say:

 

  • "As we saw the economy deteriorate, we saw the need for a product at a high level but with a more reasonable rate. We thought that if we could capture them once, they would return. That is already happening."
    "Depending on the day the rate at the Top of the Park Lane would range from about $390 to $415 - against rates as low as $250 on the "regular floors", though that differentiation is not always that wide.
  • While "executive" floors usually provide some kind of club lounge for guests, Keane said that management decided to offer the extensive extras rather than the club lounge for now.
  • Now that the executive floors have a following, the hotel will be more aggressive in marketing these rooms through an ad campaign specifically selling them. Said Keane, "There are a lot of travelers out there who are hesitant to stay with the luxury brands. And we see they are really taking advantage of all the extras, which will help in bringing them back."
  • With this strategy working well, said Keane, "there may come a point when we would redo the entire hotel in this mode, but we have not made a decision on that as yet."