Room for the brand
By Simon Fuller. Surf’s up. Forget branded stores à la pop-up. The next big thing could well be branded hotel rooms. The Casa Surf Project sees the La Casa del Camino Hotel, to be found at Laguna Beach in California, teaming up with 10 brands, including many big names in the surf industry, to offer 10 unique, branded suites.
The Project is part of a design series by Riviera Magazine which got top Sunshine State designers coming on board in order to create each suite. The result is a collection of rooms that reflect the feel and style of each respective brand.
So, entering the L*Space suite, you’ll find the silvers, golds and whites from the brand’s swimwear designs. And surfing brand Lost’s logo isn’t the only thing that crops up in its branded suite – even the pillows are made from Lost board shorts, while a surfing collage hangs on the wall.
Other participants include surf gear outfits Billabong and Quiksilver, along with water brand Glaceau.
“About two years ago… the owners of La Casa del Camino, Chris Keller and Richard Ham, and the publisher of Riviera Magazine, Chris Gialanella, came up with the concept,” explains Amy Amaradio, a marketer at Casa Resorts. “They spoke with some surf industry executives and got a positive response. The goal was to combine surf culture, hotel living and design, which was achieved with this great collaboration.”
And with La Casa del Camino’s location – near some of the best surf spots in Southern California – strong ties with the surf industry and local community, it was an ideal place to stage immersive surfing brand experiences.
“This was a great opportunity for the surf companies to possibly establish a new vertical in design and join with other brands to make a statement in the design industry,” says Amaradio. “To be part of a unique project that combined other major surf brands, a partnership with La Casa del Camino, and to have a branded room for their executives and guests, as well as a continued contribution to their charities.”
This is an example of brands doing good too. The hotel is donating a portion of the proceeds from each suite to each brand’s favoured charity for the first year, with many of the companies giving to surf-flavoured causes such as the Quiksilver Foundation, which supports surfing communities around the world.
So what’s next for the La Casa del Camino?
“We are always open to new ideas,” says Amaradio. “[We’re] trying to continually recreate ourselves and continue to build strong relationships with the surf brands.”
