Hotel Designing

What is hotel design?

A discipline that takes care of the creation of a perfect ambience for the guests is widely known as hotel design. It is basically designing a place where clients touch base after tiring journeys, or a hard day’s work, for which the host is paid money. Even though designing a hotel comprises of a mere 15% of the total budget, it accounts for a whopping 70%of its income. Hotel designs have come a long way from their erstwhile days, with specialized architects, builders, interior designers, contractors and suppliers pitching in their share. Today, hotel design includes building specialized buildings with the required amenities for the purpose of attracting clients, or renovating an old hotel building, or converting other structures such as palaces and forts into a hotel. But, despite there being no consensus upon the ideal hotel design, the fact remains that a good location and an efficient structure are the main ingredients of an attractive design.

Hotel design vis a vis its functions

A hotel is divided into a number of segments some of them being, restaurants, bedrooms, suites, reception, entry lounge, laundry area etc. It is of utmost importance that the smooth functioning of one area does not interfere with that of the others. The noise or the movement of people in one area should not disturb both the people working, and the guests in other areas. For this reason, hotels are designed inside out. This ensures good functionality.

Decide upon the theme of the hotel 

Before starting to design the interiors, give a second thought to the prevalent theme that your hotel would adhere to. There are many new trends emerging in the design industry. Boil down your choice to a select few, and then zero in upon the final choice. The look can vary anywhere between grunge, international, chic, boutique, urban or classical, but since a hotel offers a formal setting; a grunge theme would be too bold a statement.

Adventure in design

Clients worldwide have become more demanding. They want aesthetically and creatively appealing designs, better technology to have everything at their fingertips, and facilities that allow them to indulge, like a good swimming pool, an in-house gym, or a relaxing spa massage, just a call away. Also, gone are the days of heavily formal designs in hotels. The new breed of adventurous designers and travelers has made the hotels rethink their set beliefs about guest service. Business travelers have also contributed towards the adventurous design trends in the hotel industry. They want to be surprised or wowed each time they walk in. The reason for a more casual ambience in hotels can also be attributed to the need of frequent travelers to feel at home. A formal setting definitely comes in the way of it.

The increased periodicity of renovations

Only a decade back, renovations would be carried out at a gap of five to seven years. The periodicity has now increased to three to five years. This has increased the workload on designers, but eased their work because of the hoteliers’ enthusiasm to experiment. It has been noticed that more number of guests are looking forward to a signature restaurant, with a signature chef, and a signature menu. This has increased the possibilities in the design arena.

The hotel designer’s social milieu

The social milieu from which the designer hails considerably affects the way he views the world. The emerging concept of a global citizen has seen many shun the local cultural ethnicity, while others are eager to have a taste of the same. It is therefore important to have a view of what type of guests your hotel would want to cater to, to decide upon the designer. If the hotel wants to remain seeped in the regional norms, and provide its gusts with an cultural insight, a local designer, or at least one who is familiar with the cultural background, would be the safest bet. On the other hand, if you need to project your hotel as a boutique hotel, try an international designer, who has experience in designing hotels catering to guests from the world over.

The shift in focus

Unlike some years ago, the cynosure of the guest room is no more the bed, but the bathroom. The conventional claustrophobic bathrooms are being replaced by expanded ones, with showers instead of tubs, and quality fixtures and finishes.

Including the guest’s suggestions

The suggestions of the guests need to be paid heed to, if you want your design to be the finest blend of functionality and aesthetics. No other inputs hold as much importance as this one, because of the practicality involved. Also it is the guest who is the end user of the design and that makes him the best judge.

Conclusion

The demand of business and pleasure travelers is becoming more diverse. The hospitality industry needs to incorporate the upcoming trends in design to cater to their clients. It has been predicted by experts and analysts that the future will belong to hotels with colossal construction, bigger rooms and in room kitchens. Keeping the design simple yet efficient is the key.