From Shinola to West Elm, retailers find hotels make great stores

“Millennials are extremely sensitive about being sold to, versus the older generation… And that’s part of why the industrial complex of advertising and marketing has had to move away from interruption marketing to this new form of connecting by creating community.”

Featured in Travel Weekly, Vivaldi Founder and CEO Erich Joachimsthaler shares his insights on why today’s consumers favor the rising trend of marrying retail and hospitality. Rather than solely focusing on retail, consumer brands are tapping into a broader market by starting their own hospitality businesses and including in-room branded products for sale. This allows brands to offer consumers a unique shoppable experience that can literally be purchased and brought home. However, this move also poses several challenges. Are these consumer brands prepared to operate in the complex hospitality industry? Will consumers be driven away by such obvious product placements?