Stephen Johnston, General Manager, Boston Harbor Hotel
In an interview with Invest:, Stephen Johnston, general manager for Boston Harbor Hotel, talked about their strong recovery with increased international tourism and enhanced marketing efforts by Meet Boston. The hotel is updating its amenities, including a new health club and renovated meeting spaces, and looks forward to continued growth in tourism and demand for diverse travel experiences in the coming years.
What is the state of tourism in the Greater Boston region?
Things have shifted this year as we are seeing a substantial number of international tourists back in Boston again, with airports seeing a similar trend in international travel. In addition to that, Meet Boston now has a marketing fund that was not previously available and huge efforts are being made to market the city of Boston nationally and internationally as a premium tourist destination. We are already starting to reap the rewards of that. As a hospitality community, we are truly delighted with the way tourism has been developing.
What makes the region unique?
Boston is a unique city because of the history we have here. It is one of the oldest cities in the United States and it is the closest major North American city to Europe, as evidenced by our architecture and city design which is influenced by European design. We have a very diverse culture and there are many industries that have a strong foothold here that make it an interesting region, with many leading educational institutions. Biotech and tech are growing here as well, but from a tourism point of view, we have a lot going for us. We are right on the ocean, close to the mountains in Maine and Vermont and are close to New York City making us a strong secondary city. We are safe and walkable, and it is a city that has become more functional and beautiful over the time I’ve lived here at least. Now that story is being told globally thanks to Meet Boston. The motto they came up with is “Boston never gets old” to combat the perception of Boston being older and boring by showcasing our culinary scene, nightlife, diverse neighborhoods, and so on.
How is the hotel leveraging its location?
We are on the waterfront and we are in the financial district downtown, so we are seen as a corporate hotel for most of the week. Until ninteen years ago we were a bit cut off from the rest of the city because of an elevated highway that used to run right across the front of the hotel and you had to go under that to get to the hotel. The city and the state embarked on a project called The Big Dig, a colossal project where the highway was pushed underground and now there is a beautiful park on top of it and right outside of our front doors. With that change, we became a lot more accessible.
There is another district behind us called the Seaport. When I arrived here 20 years ago, there was really nothing there but parking lots. More recently, it has developed tremendously and with the density increasing over there, it means our hotel becomes more central to the city. We leverage that and although we are very corporate during the week, on the weekends we have many leisure travelers. We do lots of events and weddings in addition to corporate meetings and embrace multiple markets. We are a five-star, five-diamond hotel so we are in high demand as well. And since we are 37 years old, our hotel is usually front and center for any photos taken of the city from the ocean.
What trends are you seeing from guests at the hotel?
From a leisure point of view, we are definitely seeing customers looking for more unique experiences. They are seeking out experiences that are hard to find or individually curated experiences that can’t be found easily on Google. That is where we come into our own because we can introduce them to unique experiences and itineraries via our concierge team.
Another trend we are seeing is international tourists are starting to prefer areas that are less crowded and outside of the major destinations. Corporate travel has also returned to some extent, but they are being a little more cautious about their travel. A business trip is not to be taken lightly and it needs to be justified more rather than an online alternative. I think corporate America is realizing more that seeing people face to face is very important.
What is your outlook for the tourism sector and hotel for the next 2-3 years?
I am optimistic. The trends look good and barring any unforeseen circumstances, my expectation is that tourism both domestic and international will continue to grow. The underlying economics look like they will remain okay and I think after the pandemic years people still have a yearning to travel, especially the younger generations interested in experiences. I look at advanced booking for the convention center and we have some very robust years ahead of us. From the hotel’s perspective, we are opening a reinvented health club and swimming pool and have rolled in the new equipment. We have spent a significant amount of money on this as well as the addition of group fitness studios so people will be able to do spin, pilates and group workouts in a whole new space we created. We have also introduced individual fitness pods where people can work out in front of a screen with a private instructor. We have added a golf simulator there too.
Next year, we are also embarking on a complete reinvention of all of our meeting spaces in the hotel. We will demolish and rebuild that space and integrate high-end technology into the rooms where it didn’t exist before and we expect that to be completed by May 1, 2025.