The new TWA Hotel: Experiential & Brand—perfectly executed!

This week, we went to the new TWA Hotel. For those that haven’t seen it yet, the hotel is the old TWA airline terminal at JFK. The terminal building was designed in 1962 by Eero Saarinen, and the hotel project added two modern guest room buildings next to the existing structure.As an experiential marketer, I was very curious to see the hotel and became very excited as the day of our visit neared. Let me just say it now; it was AMAZING! From the moment we pulled up to the valet to the time we left, our experience could not have been more enjoyable. We had a blast!As you enter the terminal building with its soaring and curved ceilings, all of the replicate nostalgia mixed with the red and white TWA branding hits you, and you are immediately enthralled and enraptured. Every detail is perfectly executed; from the original split-flat departure board completely restored to tick as it rotates, to the renovated TWA airliner which sits outside on the old runway behind the terminal, now converted into a cocktail lounge. The entire experience is genuine, impactful, and true to the brand.The 1960s-era vibe includes brass lighting, walnut-accented furnishings, and rotary phones. The hallways contain red carpeting, evocative of the color and tenor of the original TWA lounge.Dinner at Jean-George’s Paris Cafe replete with 1960’s Martini Glasses was delicious.Throughout our visit, we couldn’t help but marvel and point out, with great excitement, all of the original details, branding, and elements everywhere we turned. Every aspect is well planned and placed to enhance the experience; each and every detail evokes the bygone era of a time and place when such experiences existed, but couldn’t be shared with the click of a smartphone, text or post.As we left, I couldn’t help but think that what we had experienced, the emotions that we felt in connecting to the brand, and how we experienced it, was the ultimate goal in experiential marketing. Even I, who has produced some of the largest, most complicated experiential events for the biggest brands, could not have done it better. We left with an emotional connection to the TWA brand, having experienced it in a way that we can only hope to achieve every time we produce an event for our clients. The interconnectivity of the brand and the experience was perfectly executed, left us posting and sharing as soon as we left, further reinforcing how powerful an experiential brand experience can be, when done right.