Talking about innovation is easy, innovating is not. We associate the term innovating with an emotional charge of attraction; we all want to innovate. Things get complicated when the combination of key factors enters the scene; The first is the aversion to change, we all know that change has settled in our lives and that adapting to it continuously is no longer an option, but on the other hand, this adaptation to change must meet the expectations of those who buy us and improve what was there before, otherwise they will not choose us.
2 SKB Suite at Anantara Resort
The second is investment. A businessman friend told us that “we all agree on the importance and need for innovation until you have to put your hand in your wallet.” And it is that innovating is directly proportional most of the time to investing capital in our projects; sometimes more and sometimes less, but innovation is synonymous with time and money. In addition, as you well know, there is no secret formula for how to innovate successfully; If that were the case, Google, Meta, Amazon or Apple would already have it. The best thing to do is to be inspired by those who have already done it and it worked out for them, to analyze those proposals that saw the light of day and quickly fit their audience like a glove, because they understood that they were different and good for their interests.
“That is what innovation is all about: thinking about the next step and what best suits the needs of your client.”
Today we bring you one of these cases in which SKB has also had the honor and privilege of participating and continuing to see it grow.
Animal rights, elephants, Thailand, luxury, comfort, new experiences… What a cocktail yes? A priori, anyone would say that such disparate elements are impossible to combine in a single proposal, right? Let’s delve into each of the
situations for and let’s see how one of our clients has been able to put into practice and make work one of those proposals that end up going around the world for its originality and innovation. There they go explained and related!
1) Elephants in Thailand have become a source of tourist attraction and, as often happens, this attraction ends up breaking barriers that should never be broken by becoming animal exploitation. The pachyderm becomes a captive animal that is forced to delight those visitors dressed in shorts, sunglasses and often pale skin who pay to see how it obeys, to go around on its back or in the In more extreme cases, to hunt it down, obtain the ivory from its horns and have one more piece to its credit. There is always a reaction to action and a series of people create the “Golden Triangle”, an association that creates projects for the freedom of elephants, so that they can live a life in freedom in which man only intervenes if his intervention it is absolutely necessary. The name of the association is not accidental, the Golden Triangle is an area of tropical jungle located between the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.
“After researching different possibilities, they found SKB and that allowed them to give a Turkish twist to their value proposition.”
2) In the Golden Triangle there are several luxury hotels/resorts that are aimed at the same customer target: people with high purchasing power, between 40 and 70 years old, generally couples, who seek to escape and spend a few days living a unique experience . As you can guess, the price is not a problem, so the differentiation in the offer is the spearhead to attract this type of customer. This, which may seem trivial, becomes a problem after a while because all these businesses end up offering the same thing; luxury rooms, high level meals and incredible excursions. The difference ends up being in the nuances that, many times, not even the client himself ends up valuing. It is at this point where the director of Anantara, one of these resorts, begins to think outside the box. “And if we bring the client closer to nature?” “And if we are the ones who have to think about changing the status quo of lodging in this area?” “Is it possible to create a proposal that brings the guest closer to nature in a different way without sacrificing luxury and comfort?” “Is there the possibility of having a luxury proposal that is also animal friendly?” One of the first rules of innovation is to think outside the box, which in marketing terms is called “thinking outside the box.” In Anantara they did. In 2018, and after an investigation into different possibilities, they found SKB and that allowed them to give a Turkish twist to their value proposition.
3) Talking about oneself is always uncomfortable, in this case we feel part of a project that every time it comes up in our conversations we are clear that it is a mainstay and a milestone that we must be able to explain to others. When we started talking to Anantara in 2018 we connected right away. We knew that we had found ourselves at our best time and place and together we designed the SKB that we thought would best fit in that earthly paradise. While we were designing and looking for what was best for us, we were excited, we all innovated. We reached a terrain that we knew we could reach but we lacked the one who bet on our proposal, Anantara, our client differentiated himself, and in what way, from the offer of his competitors and, as a result of the collaboration with Golden Traingle, the client can not only sleep looking at the stars but also among elephants in the wild. Can you imagine waking up in a luxurious room, making yourself a coffee and seeing how two elephants walk peacefully in front of your SKB? That is what you will find at Anantara.
2 SKB Suite at Anantara Resort
That is what innovation is all about, thinking about what the next step is and what best suits the needs of your client. Once you have it, look for it and put it into practice. Seeing the Anantara SKBs today is a pride from all prisms; We serve and help to grow and develop a new concept that until now had not occurred in such a wild territory, Anantara has queues to reserve and spend a night in its SKB at a higher ticket than a regular room and incidentally collaborate with a project as important as the preservation and freedom of an animal as characteristic and spectacular as the elephant. Finally, Golden Triangle proposes and develops projects with Anantara so that the elephants that live in the Golden Triangle are free and enjoy space and are not subject to the mandate and exploitation of man. Of course, let’s not forget the one who earns the most, which is the guest! In Anantara, clients live a unique experience incomparable with any other proposal from the competition, seeing the sky at night and the elephants by day near our bubbles that allow them to have a 360-degree view of what is happening outside the room.
“Seeing the Anantara SKB today is a pride from all prisms.”
Not surprisingly, they managed to come in second place in the prestigious international “Hospitality Design” awards, which has the highest level judges worldwide, in its 16th edition. A success story, a fantasy story, a story of innovation. Do you have yours in mind? Can you tell us?