Hotels are no longer about just a place to stay, but rather a unique experience that appeals to the preferences of guests. Not to mention, the hotel industry is always changing and coming up with new design innovations. One of the most influential changes recently is the push for designers and hoteliers to go green. Hotels are now striving to generate sustainability to satisfy guests that have become more environmentally and socially aware. As well as to cut costs. Introduction Today, the hospitality industry is about giving guests a complete unique experience, wrought every aspect of their stay.
Hotels and restaurants are able to provide these experiences through design, by taking a closer look at their guest’s tastes and preferences. These specific choices include things such as food, art, entertainment, travel, and fashion, and these characteristics help to define the design of hospitality businesses. Most recently people look for a more modern, warm design style to be implemented in all areas of guest experience, and it’s important to comply with consumer demands. According to Jim Wheelhouse, the senior vice president of
Embassy Suites Hotels, “We are now experiencing an industry wide elevation of guest expectations in terms of design. ” (Wheelhouse 2012) This means that people are expecting more than Just a place to stay, they want to feel comfortable and create memories that will last a lifetime. Design, Is a way to allow guests to do that and It has become an incredibly fundamental part of the hospitality industry. The Benefits of Implementing Good Design Creating an Experience The mall benefit of design In hotels Is creating an experience for guests.
For example, Hotel 373 on Fifth Avenue in New York City, was designed with the nearby Empire State Building in mind. The placement of windows and other features led to rooms having an absolutely spectacular view. Gene Kaufman, the architect for Hotel 373, states “Even though the rooms at Hotel 373 are small and there arena a lot of amenities, the view makes it one of the hotels that can offer a unique forego certain amenities for the breathtaking view, and centralized location in New York City. Sure enough, Hotel 373 is an extremely popular and a heavily booked hotel.
Another example of the design of a hotel creating an experience is the Manta Resort n BEMA Island, located Just off the coast of Tanzania. The resort recently added another astonishing room to their original 16 room facility. According to CNN news, “Lying approximately 250 meters offshore, the latest underwater structure is a three- story affair, with a rooftop deck, a bathroom and a lounge area at sea level and finally the bedroom downstairs, with the fish. ” (Chaw 2013) At night the lights below the windows illuminate nocturnal squids and octopi, truly creating an experience that guests won’t soon forget.
Although this room is an extra 1,500 dollars per night, on pop of the resorts all-inclusive fee of 495 dollars per night, this room is already a hit amongst adventure seekers and divers. People are willing to travel across the world to experience what the design of this resort offers. Defining Brand Identity Hotel Designers may use design as a tool to help define the Hotel brand. They can do this using similar color schemes, features, furniture, amenities, and more throughout a chain of hotels. Chain restaurants also use Design as a way to establish brand identity.
For example, most of the time, if you were to go into a McDonald’s restaurant, Hansen are you wouldn’t need to see the signs outside to know where you were. This is because, by keeping a similar design in all McDonald’s restaurants, it makes people more familiar and in turn, more comfortable with their surroundings. Brand identity can benefit Hotels as well. If a guest were to enjoy their time at a certain hotel chain when they traveled to Florida, then they may want to go to the same chain on their vacation to California next year. Defining brand identity is a way to ensure that you will build guest loyalty, and increase revenue.
The Evolution of Design in Hotels The design of hotels was never quite as important in the past as it is today. Hotels used to Just be a place to sleep, and keep your things while you were away from home. Now, guests expect more than that. They expect somewhere warm, modern and convenient, with useful amenities. According to Jim Wheelhouse, “Hotel guests want a smart, clean design that is functionally relevant. ” An example of Guests gravitating toward the newer, simpler design in hotels can be seen right in Western New York. Opening in 1967, Salvatore Garden Place Hotel has always been known for their over the top dcore.
However, in recent years, with the dcore of Salvatore becoming dated, guests have started to feel that it’s more gaudy than luxurious. One review on Trip Advisor even says, “The dcore is nothing if not tick tack with vulgar goddesses. ” (Trapdoors. Com) It has become apparent that Salvatore Garden Place Hotel is quickly being over-shadowed by Russell Salvatore Grand Hotel, which is located Just down the street. Some reviews for Russell on Trip Advisor even point that out, saying “The hotel itself was well-decorated, not as gaudy as Salvatore Garden Place Hotel. ” (Trapdoors. M) People are choosing Russell over Salvatore due to the simpler, more modern design. Sustainability One of the most popular new trends in hospitality design is the thought of sustainability. Sustainability is defined as the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources. The reason sustainability is becoming so important is because, according to Michael Pannier, Senior Vice President of Viceroy Hotel Group, “It is no longer an afterthought to be “responsible” and green- it is expected”. (Pannier 2011) There are many ways for a hotel to become more sustainable hen it comes to the design.
There are simple things, such as switching out old normal light bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs which use 60% less energy and last up to ten times longer. These light bulbs also generate 70% less heat, which saves on air conditioning costs. Another way to increase sustainability is to utilize curtains, bedspreads, carpet and furniture that was made out of recycled materials, which are fire-resistant and machine washable. Sustainability not only makes the guest feel good about themselves, but it also saves money for the hotel. As well as eating customer demand, the move to low-impact interiors reflects hoteliers’ desire to cut operating costs, and create a healthy productive place to stay’. (Anonymous 2011) LED Design LED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. “LED is an internationally recognized green building certification system which provides third- party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at increasing performance, reducing waste, and improving quality of life. ” (Burbler 2013) To put it simply, LED is a rating system for buildings. It can be alluding is.
Hotels can accumulate points for things that save energy, such as the recycled linens and the compact fluorescent light bulbs that were mentioned earlier. Once all of the points are tallied, they become that buildings LED rating. The higher the number, the more sustainable a building is. The LED rating systems are internationally accepted benchmarks for design, construction, and operation of sustainable, green buildings. Conclusion In the end, it all comes back to the guest. Hotels must appeal to their newly found high expectations in design that includes the expectation for a memorable experience.
