Rachel Meng, who has more than 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry and most recently served as the director of investments at Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, has launched Hotel Bambinee, a brand geared toward young families.
While lifestyle hotels around the world continue to thrive, experiences in the hotel space are geared toward adults, according to Meng. She realized that much of hospitality’s modern branding, offerings and amenities don’t reflect the wants and needs of today’s young family. So she created Hotel Bambinee to deliver an elevated lifestyle experience that “puts families at the forefront.”
“The brand reflects the busy, wonderful, complex and ever-changing world of families,” she said. “Hotel Bambinee invites guests to embark easily and rest peacefully. We’re celebrating and empowering families.”
Meng is a millennial mom and travel enthusiast who’s visited 44 countries. “I realized after having two daughters how much travel changed,” she said. “Highchair, booster seat, baby bathtub, bedside bassinet, potty seat, step stool, bottle warmer and extra supplies became my new reality.”
She said that even the best family resorts aren’t equipped to eliminate the need for far too much luggage, not to mention urban hotels.
The brand aims to alleviate the hassles of traveling with young children. “But even more,” said Meng, “we want to deliver an experience that celebrates families and makes them feel welcome and at ease.”
The Hotel Bambinee brand does that through indoor spaces that invite play and exploration, as well as guestrooms that spark creativity, togetherness and calm, according to Meng. She worked with an interior designer to concept guestrooms that speak to comfort and convenience as well as style and modern luxury. “This isn’t a Kindergarten classes aesthetic,” she said. “The concept is chic and modern—designed for parents above all.”
Meng sees the clientele of Hotel Bambinee as ranging from the traditional family excited to find a family-centric lifestyle brand to the single parent who appreciates the on-site facilities and social component, as well as multi-generational travelers who want an easy way to come together as a group and business travelers who would love to bring their kids. Her collaborators include an interior designer who’s a single mom living on two continents and a branding executive mom who travels for a living.
The brand will contribute a portion of its proceeds to children’s hospitals and organizations that help improve the health, education and wellness of children across the globe. “We will encourage our little guests to write letters or draw cards of encouragement for the children in need,” she said.
The brand and concept can be brought to life through a variety of partnerships: hoteliers and commercial developers who see the concept as ideal for a major real estate conversion or ground-up development; investors in the brand as a scalable model; and hotel management companies that see potential in the family travel segment, according to Meng.
She has also created Club Bambinee as a way to work within existing hotel properties, to maximize underutilized space or floors. “We see the opportunity to build from the ground up or repurpose a portion of the space or floors within existing hotels, to capture the demand from this growing yet underserved demographic,” she said.