Skift Take
By emphasizing the social aspect of the traditional evening social hour through experiential F&B programming and room design, The Mix is helping stave off those Tuesday night road warrior blues.
In an effort to modernize its extended-stay guest experience for Millennial business travelers, Residence Inn by Marriott launched a new evening social program in June called The Residence Inn Mix.
“The Mix” is being rolled out on Monday through Wednesday nights at nearly 700 Residence Inns across the country, developed around the findings of a $225,000 consumer research survey in 2014 (see below). One of the primary survey takeaways was: “The need to not feel isolated on business travel spans guests’ social desires and motivations."
Therefore, the new social program is designed to help guests feel more comfortable to connect naturally with each other through interactive food and beverage (F&B) programming and energized spaces. Traditionally, extended-stay properties have offered occasional free dinners as a way to interrupt the sense of isolation that business travelers encounter after a week on the road. The quality of food offerings, however, has never been much to write home about, and there’s never been much effort to elevate the beverage or the social experience.
So Residence Inn is emphasizing F&B quality over quantity, while at the same time leveraging its signature fire pits and recently remodeled public spaces to create more engagement.
The Mix program consists of three themed 90-minute social evening events. Monday night is branded as “It's On” when guests gather for popular TV shows in the lobby or around the fire pits, while dining on a variety of light appetizers. Tuesday is “Off the Grill,” highlighting local cuisine prepared by hotel chefs.
Wednesdays are the most varied, alternating between three different experiences. “Food Truck” nights revolve around a local food truck parked on-property; “Local Flavors” night includes sample specialties from trendy local restaurants; and the “Just Desserts” evenings involve a selection of specialty pastries.
Complementing all of that, Residence Inn partnered with Anheuser-Busch to offer a more upscale variety of beers, such as Stella Artois and Goose Island. All F&B is complimentary for guests except for the food truck events.
The most interesting thing about this initiative relates to the specific challenges for the extended-stay traveler away from friends and family for a week or more at a time. When you’re alone in a hotel next to an airport or strip mall on a Tuesday night, there’s a certain level of loneliness that an
