Hilton:

The Challenge:

Extended stay hotels in the US have seen rapid – and profitable – growth. With higher margins and lower development costs compared to full-service hotels, they have the potential to generate higher returns on investment. Hilton knew that this segment would be a valuable addition to their hotel portfolio, and needed to move fast recognising that many other players were investing into this segment.

Hilton knew that this segment would be a valuable additional to their hotel propositions, but they also knew they wouldn’t be the only business to be thinking of this.

Hilton engaged us to realise this ambition. Our challenge was to develop a disruptive, category-leading hotel brand and guest experience and to do it fast, as they knew their competitors were actively developing rival propositions and they wanted to have the upper hand in announcing within their Q2 FY23 Earnings Call.

The Approach:

At Butterfly, we are innovators at heart. We bring that spirit to all challenges we undertake – helping uncover white spaces, map new opportunities, and find sharp unexpected angles on mainstream ideas. Our philosophy to create experience brands is to iterate often, with regular qualitative and quantitative feedback loops, to keep us on track.

First, we conducted foundational research to set a common understanding of today’s guest reality, from the perspectives of stakeholders, franchise partners, desk research into competitors and parallel worlds and competitive property immersions and intercepts.

This geared us up for our ideation sprint and iterative co-creation with guests and franchise owners. Conducted across an intensive week, we explored all facets of the brand and experience.

Over the following months, we worked closely with Hilton bringing the concept to life, working closely with architecture and design partners and with their leadership team to ensure buy-in and excitement.

The Impact:

Our core insight centered on guests finding joy in everyday moments during extended stays.  Customisation, immersive local experiences, and a balance of automation and personal welcome were cornerstones of the proposition and execution we created.

We facilitated the collaboration over 3000+ people in the development of this new brand that will be an unprecedented new source of net unit growth for Hilton and hotel owners.

The first property is set to open in 2024, and with hundreds of active development conversations it promises to be a powerful addition to the portfolio.