About Life Hotels - Signature Life

About Life Hotels

The New Traveller

Something exciting is happening in the world of hotels. A new type of traveler is walking through the door. These modern individuals are explorers, culture-seekers, professionals and shoppers. They travel a lot – both long and short haul. They are independent, share a respect for the places they visit and are young at heart.

Coming from cities near and far, they share a common desire: affordable luxury and a Life full of adventure and change. They are so important to us; we named our hotels after them.

Life Hotels– has reflected on and learn't from the needs of these new travelers

They know what they like in a good hotel and what they don’t need from a bad one. What they like includes stylish design and great value. They appreciate the best entertainment for free. The latest technology, quality products, a sociable atmosphere, a comfortable bed and great pillows.

They need a hotel in a good location. What they don’t want is unnecessary or hidden costs. They don’t need marble fountains or out-dated services.

Life Hotels has a unique personality and likes to be approachable, down-to-earth, friendly and worldly wise. While we take our aim of providing a stylish and affordable hotel very seriously, Life Hotels also acts with a serious sense of humour.

Above all, Life Hotels wants to offer a new type of hotel experience for a new type of traveler: people who value personal choice, modern design, friendly technology and the proximity to a city – for an accessible price.

Inspired By

Inspired by Signature Life Hotels, Life Hotels encourages renewal through a fun filled and influenced environment. Intuitively constructed with an efficient use of space, Life Hotels helps you stay relaxed and entertained, expecting the unexpected while you’re away.

Aiming to bring affordable “fun luxury” to modern travelers, this new hotel brand) is targeting guests who view design as a given, need rooms that are comfortable and efficient, but can't or don't want to spend hundreds of rands dollars, euros or pounds for a night's sleep.

Relax and refresh while away from home. Life Hotels is a new kind of hotel, one that ensures you will have everything you need to be at your best – whether your stay is a quick weekend getaway or a week-long trip.

The Brands Detail

Life Hotels says come on in, and make yourself comfortable

Making up for small rooms that are mainly meant for sleeping and showering, Life Hotels features inviting common areas, including a self-serve deli selling sushi, salads, hot pasta – generally trendy young food. To cut costs, the hotel doesn't offer a full-service restaurant or room service. Guests check-in and check-out is seamless, which takes less than a minute.

While it's not the first no-frills chic hotel travelers will welcome another brand that offers what 1 Time, JetBlue, Kulula.com and Mr Price offer—strong design and a good experience for a great price

Our Secret

We like to think that Life Hotels is an evolution in the hotel industry. But since Life Hotels likes to be a little bit modest, we won’t shout about it. At least not too much.

Current above the line brands deliver an often inconsistent and quickly-aging product. Life Hotels will offer developers and guests an opportunity to enter the segment with a comfortable, yet stylish product at a low cost per key.

The properties will be comprised of approximately 20 percent studios and 80 percent bed sitters. Public space will account for approximately 200 square metres. Average cost per key, excluding land, will average ZAR 400,000

Bed Rooms are compact—just 22-28 square meters—but big windows and a smart layout ensure they don't feel cramped. The hotel is a veritable showroom for several interior designers iconic furniture—and Mr Price. Guests can regulate their own room temperature and lighting, adjust blinds, flip through TV channels and set alarms.

So what do we consider when designing Life Hotels?

We cut clutter on surfaces by mounting all possible things on the wall (TV, lights). Guests want a clear and spacious workspace.  We supply an iPod docking station, which lets guests chill out to their own music via speakers.

We put in more electrical outlets and a safe that can hold laptops and has an outlet to charge computers, cell phones, PDAs and iPods. We offer an ergonomic chair and desk on wheels, for more mobility. And have a footrest or ottoman for the chair you relax in.

Guests in different cities want different things, and so focus groups are city-specific.

Space

In a hotel room, we take a small space and create a flexible haven for the guest for multiple activities. We design this environment with any size room. Our first step is to decide which activities our guests want to perform (aside from sleeping!) and plan space accordingly.

The Not-So-Obvious Keys to Comfort

We review the room’s acoustics, ventilation and system controls. If possible, we add extra insulation between walls, install upgraded carpet pad, and add fabric walls with padded upholstered wall panels or on the headboard. These steps help increase comfort. In addition, our rooms are ventilated correctly - common mistakes are air vents blowing over the bed. We place the bed away from air vents and make sure our guests have access to fresh air.

Light it Up

In Life Hotels hotel rooms, the following techniques are often utilized:

  • Three-way switch at entry for bedside lamp
  • Closet light that turns on automatically when door is opened
  • Reading lights at bed that are individually controlled 
  • Ample lighting in bathroom - lighted makeup mirror, wall sconces and overhead lighting at vanity, lighting in tub area and lighting under vanity for night light 
  • Dimmer controls on everything!

Late Night Snacks

We Incorporate a station for coffee, beverages and snacks. In some hotels we really get snazzy, and add a mini bar or wine cooler, and a sink (can be located near bathroom entry).

Incorporate Flexibility

We think "multi-use." We incorporate a pivoting desk so you can watch television (or the sunset) while working on those expense reports. If there is room for additional seating, rather than a standard chair, we use either a chaise longue, built in seating or upholstered chairs with leather ottomans. Ottoman can be used to rest tired feet, as a surface for a board game or as a dining surface. Also, add a mirror above the desk so guests can use it as a make-up vanity if your better half has control of the bathroom!

The Bed 

  • Step 1: We buy the best bed we can.

  • Step 2: We do away with the bedspread. We use a dust skirt and making the bed becomes a breeze, believe me - making up beds is our forte!!! 

  • Step 3: We purchase top quality bedding, including 300 thread count sheets and duvets. 

  • Step 4: We add throw pillows for color and pizzazz and include a throw blanket at the end of bed to protect that duvet and provide a cozy cover-up while reading a book in your favorite chair 

We make it Personal and Unique

Our hotel rooms feature regional art and local interest magazines so a guest feels a connection with the city they are visiting.

Restore

Whether you are on the run or have time to relax, our complimentary lunch hamper is a nutritious way to keep you going during the day. Healthy grab-n-go options to get you out the door, makes you remember us even after you’re out the door.

Public space

A relaxed feeling comes over you as you enter the bright, open, nature-inspired space. Whether you are looking to mingle or catch up on work, the multi-functional public space encourages a sense of renewal and empowerment

Green

Life Hotels restores your balance while being kind to the environment. Eco-conscious Life Hotels contribute to sustainability through paper recycling bins in each room, recycled materials in carpets and low VOC interior paints

Private space

Reflecting the smart design of urban residences, the flowing layouts of our guest rooms are created to maximize space in a small space and enable you to use the room in multiple ways. You can actually customize the space to meet your need

Our Life

We try our utmost to have as much interactive fun with our travelers who mostly travel alone and sometimes feel like a bit of a pick me up. How do we achieve this, we do the following:

  • Our receptions desks are also the bar and coffee shop
  • We only offer continental breakfasts of the most amazing quality
  • Our complimentary red Life lunch boxes are legend
  • Our arrival snacks are fortune cookies
  • We have playstations in the reception
  • We have Wii Fit in reception
  • Ipod docking stations - some are in each bedroom
  • Wireless connectivity is free
  • Our in room safes all fit laptops
  • Our staff are asked to create havoc at every opportunity and one hour per day is given to them for the expression of themselves
  • Vending machines are in the hotel
  • Local telephone calls are free
  • Room rates include a continental breakfast
  • In-room coffee and tea includes fresh milk delivered at turndown
  • A self service deli in reception is open 24 hours a day
  • All our staff know how to press laundry

Our lobby ideas

If there is one thing to learn from the recessions of the past as well as this one, it is that where industries fail there are new opportunities for the rest of us to grab hold of as the public’s general tastes and needs evolve. So, we ask, is this such an opportunity for us as hoteliers?

For years, the hotel industry has grappled with driving traffic from outside the hotel to the lobby – and hotel brands have built their reputation and quickly grown their awareness in the marketplace by creating lobby environments where the general public eats, drinks, parties, spas and, in general, hangs out. As the general public seek new “third places” (to steal a Starbucks-coined term), are hotel lobbies – especially in larger cities – where they could be headed?

And, so we pose the question here always: Can the hotel lobby become the new recreation spot and create a new revenue centre for us? We think it is entirely possible, especially if designers and architects start considering bringing more levels of experience to their lobby designs. In warmer climates, can there be an indoor/outdoor element to a lobby? Is there room for guests to “go for a walk?” Is there an experience-driven coffee bar? A place to plug in (and these days, this doesn’t just mean a place to plug in, but a place to iPod, X-box, Tweet and more)? A place to relax – even if you are not staying at the hotel?

We believe so - a new world of opportunity is opening for us to seize. And, if we have the courage to do it, our hotels and business may never be the same.