How Luxury Hotels Are Playing to Kids

How Luxury Hotels Are Playing to Kids
Kids used to get little respect from hotels, but now luxury brands are seeing that catering to children can make a big difference in bookings. That’s why high-end hotels are adding all kinds of children’s activities and amenities to attract traveling families. These pint-sized perks range from family-friendly movie nights, to kids’ cooking classes, to crafting with local artists. With more and more wealthy parents taking their tots with them on trips, high-end hotels are realizing that pleasing kids is the key to these bookings. Fortune.com featured more on how upscale hotels are treating kids to all of life’s luxuries.

Pampering with Privileges
At St. Regis Resorts & Hotels, children are spoiled for free with surprises throughout their stays. Upon arrival, children receive kid-sized slippers and robes. Every night, a tasty treat or toy awaits them on their beds.

And their new Family Traditions program features different creative experiences at every single property. Some locations even have special children’s clubs that take kids on off-site excursions. Parents get babied, too, with a ready supply of strollers and other baby supplies.

Spoiling with Special Events
Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts is known for unique experiences. Now, they’ve extended this effort to children with their Kids for All Seasons program.

This complimentary children’s program is different in each destination, yet all offer fun experiences for kids throughout their stays. From bicycle tours to ice cream socials to dive-in movies around the pool, one-third of the brand’s properties offer this kid-friendly program. Plus, some hotels cater to teens with popular movies and video games. And many kids’ perks are at all locations, like free children’s meals at on-site restaurants and top-of-the-line strollers available to parents.

Indulging with Immersion
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts immerses kids in the destination with complimentary children’s programs based around each place. When kids arrive, they are given special backpacks filled with a mix of toys and toiletries, plus all kinds of gifts and goodies unique to that location. Activities and amenities differ at each hotel, with island locations giving kids tropical island treats, while more urban hotels provide supplies for cultural excursions. Some hotels go above and beyond by surprising kids with bedtime stories or arranging off-site scavenger hunts.

“High-end hotels are going out of their way to accommodate children and their parents by offering clever and meaningful amenities,” said Albert Herrera, senior vice president of Global Product Partnerships for the Virtuoso luxury travel network. “They realize that these families are a lucrative segment of the travel market.”

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