The process of hotel architecture and design carries a lot of ambiguity in many cases, which elicits a variety of reactions from the various stakeholders involved in the process.
For many hotel owners and operators, this process can cause extreme anxiety and sleepless nights wondering what crazy ideas an interior design company might come up with. Is the furniture suitable? Was the right site chosen? Will the operator be able to clean and maintain the property in an efficient manner?
However, we live in a time of intelligence and stratospheric information that can be accessed within a nanosecond, and an experienced owner/developer will make the most of this information as possible.
When architecture and design firms embrace data-driven design, much of this ambiguity and anxiety is eliminated, as the design foundation relies on historical and real-time data to inform the design.
For example, if the owner/operator provides the design team with the top five guests that the hotel is targeting, this information narrows the design path a bit, allowing designers to be more creative while at the same time paying more attention to performance and specifications required to meet concrete guest expectations.
However, if the design teams are left to their own imagination to guess who the hotel guest is, the target design packages may easily miss the target, resulting in more fees and schedule delays.
The experienced design team will provide data from previous projects, and will also research and gather groundbreaking evidence from case studies and other successful projects to inform the owner/developer.
For example, when considering making a deeper investment in fitness and wellness, Cornell University Hospitality Research Center found that guest satisfaction is directly related to a property’s financial performance. The key findings are that even the smallest increase in hotel ratings results can increase hotel revenue. More specifically, “a one-point increase in the 100-point ReviewPro Global Index [GRI] Can lead to a 1.42% increase in revenue per available room [RevPAR]. ”
This makes the goal of obtaining high scores online even more important for property managers. 38% of guests who give positive reviews are likely to report the highest overall satisfaction score with their feedback, according to the Accor Wellbeing Whitepaper. Sanitary facilities continue to rise in importance to hotel guests.
When brought in at an early stage, a deeply professional interior designer can create many different potential guest experiences through careful space planning, lighting design, interior finishing choices, furniture specifications, fixtures, artwork, window treatments, and more.
A common problem with hotel design is that sometimes the public areas are not adequately sized or poorly arranged. An experienced interior designer can take this into account at an early stage of the planning process and optimize the use and design of the available space.
By bringing the architect, engineers, interior designer, procurement firm, and general contractor to the table early in the process, the owner can virtually ensure a lower cost for their project.
This integrated design approach encourages communication and problem solving, draws on each professional’s years of experience, provides the contractor with enough information to provide pricing early in the project rather than waiting for the bidding process and drastically reduces the number of change orders during construction, as the contractor understands the project’s vision and design . Fewer surprises equals few change orders.
Data on furniture, fixtures, and equipment is extensive and includes condition goods, soft goods, lighting, artwork, window coverings, flooring, wall coverings, custom décor and more. For some, it can also include electronics, information technology, controls, applications, and other technologies.
Determining who, what, and where early on with a data-driven responsibility matrix puts everyone in their own lanes, encouraging creativity and efficiency. The budget for furniture, fixtures, and equipment is highly data-driven. This should not mean that the lowest price always wins, as not all FF&E are created equal. Specification statements must be accurately evaluated in relation to the overall project objectives, schedule, and life cycle cost.
By understanding the various sources of available data, and motivating design and build teams to design and build according to evidence-based design and the FF&E package in an integrated way, owners and developers can deliver an expanded guest experience while also enjoying healthy profits.
Suzie Hall, ASID, LEED AP ID+C, a member of NEWH, is the founder and president of Cornerstone Design, an award-winning interior design firm serving the hospitality, commercial and multi-markets. Renowned as a design, procurement, and modular design expert, Cornerstone Collective launched in early 2020.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of Hotel News Now or the CoStar Group and its affiliates. Bloggers posted on this site are free to express opinions that may be controversial, but our goal is to spark thought and constructive discussion within our community of readers. Feel free to contact the editor with any questions or concerns.
Return to the home page Hotel News Now.