By Dala Al Fuwaires
Interior design is one of the most important aspects of a hotel. Nowadays, guests prefer to stay at a hotel that creates an experience and has tasteful décor. Interior design dictates the mood of your space and creates an experience for your guest, so aesthetics is incredibly important when designing your hotel. Great interior design helps ensure your guest will have an amazing experience that will make them come visit again. Here are a few things hoteliers overlook when designing their space.
The experience must translate to every part of the hotel
The most important aspect of successful hotel interior design is your ability to translate the boutique experience to every part of your hotel. Each area must create an intimate moment that is unique, but still similar to the design of the hotel as a whole. Spaces such as the lobby, the bar, the restaurant, the rooms and even the hallways must create experiences that make guests gravitate to them, while reminding them that your hotel is the thing bringing them all these different moments.
Tell a story by creating a solid concept that can weave through each space and think about the feelings you wish to incite in each space. Rooms are relaxing and a restaurant is lively. These experiences provoke different feelings, but they can tell a similar story.
Whatever experience you are going for, make sure your design translates into every corner of your hotel while still making room for unique moments.
Don’t follow the fads, create something timeless instead
A new hotel project can take anywhere from two to three years to build, and you have to keep that in mind when you are designing the space. Make sure the design solutions you come up with are looking forward, otherwise, the hotel may end up feeling dated the moment it opens. Don’t just follow the most popular trends that other hotels are doing. Balance current design, but also create something timeless. Don’t be afraid to use new design choices, but also implement classic elements.
Make sure your interior designer is looking at case studies on the interior design of both new and classic hotels to make sure your space is standing out in a new way and doesn’t imitate what the industry is already doing.
Honor and respect the built environment
This is a common problem with many chain hotels. It is very easy for a chain to get caught in its brand and overly focus on interior design choices that match that brand. It is important that you consider the built environment you are in and integrate that into your hotel’s design. This means buying art, furniture and accessories from locals who understand the character of the community. Doing this will help a hotel better integrate into the community it is in and shows your guest you understand the story of the environment around you.
Most importantly, integrating local art and accessories helps bring locals into your hotel. Many hotels cater to travelers and not to locals, but your hotel benefits if you can get locals to dine at your restaurant, drink at your bar or stay the night for a special occasion. Bring in locals by creating phenomenal experiences that anchor themselves to the community.
Interior design is essential to the success of a hotel. If hoteliers do not craft a unique experience, they will not keep guests coming back. Craft an experience that weaves through every room of the hotel, don’t follow the fads and honor the environment you are building in. Follow these steps and you will design a hotel that guests will love.
Dala Al-Fuwaires is the owner/principal designer at House of Form, a boutique hospitality design firm based in Scottsdale, AZ.
This is a contributed piece to Hotel Business, authored by an industry professional. The thoughts expressed are the perspective of the bylined individual.
