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Hotels Aspire to Your Homes
Hotels aspire to your homes
Kitchen islands, living plants, space for your pet -- while these are common to find in a nice condo, they are not features you typically expect to find in hotels.
No more, however. As the economic downturn hit the hotel industry and competition to attract travelers has intensified, there is a movement to make hotels feel more like homes, bringing in more comfort, ease and soul.
Essentially, home is where we can kick back, relax, showcase our history and personal expression, and where we entertain friends and loved ones. Hotel designers like me have been considering the lifestyle of the hotel guest at home and trying to conceptualize everything guests might desire throughout the day during their stay.
In our firm, we're seeing that the trends of hyperlocal, cultural authenticity, good old-fashioned comfort and socialization are the new standard in hotel design.
One way hotel décor is changing in this direction is how eclectic hotel design has become, shying away from the typical corporate hospitality look and feel. Hotels like the Viceroy in Miami, designed by Kelly Wearstler, have original art, unique antiques or artisanal pieces that give guests the feeling of staying over at the house of a well-traveled rich relative.
At the same time, the amenities have become more personalized, localized and specialized. Rather than the feeling of a hotel that was sourced at a corporate level nationally, we see more and more unique products that are specific to the destination. It is common to find small organic toiletries brands in a lot of new hotels, local items in mini-bars, fresh produce in the welcome basket. The Ace and Crosby Street Hotels in New York, for example, both do a good job offering guests items they would not find anywhere else.
Furniture comfort levels, especially in seating, are another way hotels are inching closer to home. Ever tried to sit on the hotel room sofa and watch your favorite show? Typical hospitality furniture was created with waiting lobby mentality -- neat, stiff, no fuss. More recent hotels feature comfortable, plush sofas with closer to home proportions. The Jefferson Hotel in Washington D.C. or the Crosby Hotel in New York both feature seating in rooms and in the lobby comfortable as home living room furniture.
Finally, socialization. Hotel used to discourage guests inviting friends over to hotel bars and back into their rooms for socializing. As the extended-stay trend is rising, hotels are making a new effort to encourage socialization in lobbies and rooms. In the new extended-stay property from Hyatt, Hyatt House, studios incorporate kitchen islands instead of desks. Kitchen islands were designed to be the heart of the room and an area where the long-term guests can have dinner parties for their friends away from home.
The luxury property, One Aldwych in London, is taking personalization seriously. Each room has original art works, fresh flowers daily, a minibar filled with "London goodies" and windows that open, rather than the synthetic central air. Outside the rooms, reinterpretations of old milk boxes that used to be found on porches of homes,are placed for message delivery to the guests.
While it's hard to achieve the warmth of home from having loved ones around, we as hotel design professionals are creating an alternate that is more personal and welcoming than before.
Michael Suomi is the principal in charge of hospitality interiors at Stonehill & Taylor, architecture and interior design firm known for work in the hospitality sector, including high-profile projects like the Crosby Street Hotel, The Ace Hotel, President Hotel.
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