In Focus

The exotic element

If hotels are merely about accommodation, then the style and structure can border the bizarre, and interestingly, many do. By Neeti Mehra

The Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada Photo credit: Photographer Xavier Dachez ©www.xdphoto.com

For the vast majority of travellers, a hotel is a place where they spend a few nights; a place where a bellboy carts their luggage to their rooms; a place to haggle with the reception desk staff for a free upgrade to a pool-facing room. It's also a place to tank up for the day, courtesy the all-inclusive buffet breakfast, but a place where they religiously avoid the costly mini-bar.

Then there are others for whom the hotel is an adventure. It is an experience sans bellboys. perhaps a place to take minimal luggage, perhaps it will require self-cooking, a natural water body rather than a pool - an element of the exotic. In short, a hotel that is unusual. But is there a market for this? Yes indeed, a growing and a thriving one.

The haven of ice

Why would anyone want to live in an icebox in temperatures varying between -25 degrees Celsius to 5 degrees Celsius, clad in three-layers of clothing - thermal synthetic underwear, woolen middle wear and an outerwear of wind protecting ski jackets and pants, and sleep in a sleeping bag on ice in temperatures as low as -3 degrees Celsius? That too paying top dollar? You'd be surprised.

The Ice Hotel in Quebec offers just this. The eighth season of the hotel will begin January 4 next year, till sometime April. It is a mammoth structure made of 15,000 tons of snow and 500 tons of ice with ceilings over 18 feet high. The walls are covered with original artwork, and furniture carved out of ice blocks. It takes approximately five weeks to be erected. Every year, it is born with a new design. It has 34 rooms and theme suites, and its famous Ice Lounge is a chapel where couples can tie the knot.

Jacques Desbois, who has a befitting moniker of Mr Igloo, conceived the hotel in 1996. Desbois, a winter enthusiast and lover of snow, was in the process of establishing La Piste Desbois, an eco-tourism company that would specialise in making and managing Igloo Villages, when he came across Sweden's iconic Ice Hotel. It was a eureka moment. He proclaimed thus, "If they can do it in Sweden, we can do it here in Quebec, the snow capital of the world." He packed his bags and went off to Jukkasjärvi, Sweden to meet with the creators of this magical structure. The first Ice Hotel in Quebec came up in 2001.

Says Marie-Eve Laganière, communications and media relations' consultant for Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada, of the experience, "Unusual hotels such as the Ice Hotel have to keep in mind that innovation is the key to success and longevity. The Ice Hotel offers a unique and top of the range experience which is what people are looking for."

In unusual hotels, reaching out to customers is of prime importance, with most being standalone properties with no marketing muscle or a distribution system to splash them in public cynosure. The internet and strong media relation exercise, apart from marketing with local clients from the province of Quebec, is a part of their strategy.

Understandably so. Luggage restrictions would be a nightmare for a family of four living in China and wanting to holiday in the Ice Hotel Quebec. Most of their guests are from North America - the US and Canada, with a smattering of Europeans. Romance is rife in these freezing climes and most of their clients are couples. "Most are from Canada, 30 per cent are from USA and the rest are from Europe, South America and Asia," she says. The damages? From US$ 169 per person, double occupancy.

An interesting observation she makes is that in North America, the aging population represents a lucrative market for unusual hotels. "This part of the population is growing, usually has a good salary, is in good shape and is looking for unique adventures," points out Laganière. The average age of their guest is between 30 and 50 and searching for a unique experience.

It is a challenging endeavour for the creators of the hotel to build it whilst maintaining the environment. They use water from the river, and sometimes, when the winter season is mild, they must construct it in a very short span of time to open in time for the season. Staffing in these unusual hotels is a problem too. Far away from the city centre and without the support of a strong chain affiliation, finding qualified and bilingual employees becomes an issue. Despite this, it is a tourist attraction, and a beautiful one at that.