As travellers look to take greater care over where and with who they mix, so hospitality brands will have to bring more of what the hotel offers to their bedside table. What does this mean for the hotel room?
It’s time to redefine the hotel room. But how? Our latest #FrameLive panel addressed this hot topic. Frame editorial director Robert Thiemann, Neil Andrew, head of hospitality at Perkins&Will, Damien Perrot, global senior vice president of design at Accor and Eric Jafari, chief development officer and creative director at Edyn Group examined the suite’s transformation into a sanctuary for work, rest and play. Here are some key points from the exploration into the space’s changing role.
Identify evolving guest needs
‘People are travelling a little bit less, but they're travelling over extended periods of time,’ noted Jafari. ‘The average length of stay has almost doubled post-COVID.’ It begs the question: what are the needs of these modern-day guests? ‘They want a place where they can sleep,’ he continued. ‘But you know, especially in light of COVID, they'll want a place where they can eat – a place to prepare their own meal, to order a delivery and not have to eat it on their bed. They want to be able to sit and work on a laptop – doing it from the bed is fine for a day or two. But if you're staying for 10 days or longer it becomes problematic.'
On the other hand, he explained: ‘People have discovered that their home is not just a place to sleep, but it's become a place to eat, to work, to play, to socialize, to host. And when people are travelling abroad, I think they’re willing to depart from the 24-hour life that they’re typically accustomed to.’
Above and cover: Designed by New York City-based practice Grzywinski+Pons, London hotel Locke at Broken Wharf 'takes its cue from the evolving and varied demands of the contemporary traveller'. The aparthotel brand is one of the names in Edyn Group's portfolio. Photos: Nicholas Worley
Get priorities straight
‘Consumers are actively looking to slow down and will seek brands that can help them do this,’ added Andrew. ‘In this case, the guestroom becomes a sanctuary focused on contemplation and self-care. The desire for quiet in spaces is paramount, and I think hotel brands should address what is really important within a room and strip back any unnecessary items.' Andrew sees this as an opportunity for operators to communicate their brand messaging through in-room experiences and key touchpoints – that could be sustainability, wellness or providing a decent workspace. 'Whereas, in the past, they may have just been looking at the richness of fabrics and certain fixtures within the room.’
Perrot echoed this need for prioritization. ‘If you want to do everything in the room, it means that you won't be able to do anything very well,’ he explained. ‘It's not about showcasing all the different technology available on the market. It’s really about selecting the best technology, materials, etc. in order to really to answer the needs of today.’
Accor Group brand Novotel has joined forces with four international design studios to usher in a new interior vision at its locations. Photo: Courtesy of Novotel
To be completed this year, Perkins&Will's design for UK destination Margate Seafront Hotel takes a community-focused approach. Photo: Courtesy of Perkins&Will
Think modular, and hyper-personal
That’s where the need for modularity and hyper-personalization comes in. Andrew posed a few hypothetical situations: ‘If you have a company or a team staying in a hotel, how can you then join those rooms together? Can you combine rooms for a family to make them more homely, with one room becoming the shared living space?’ He mentioned that curated, local-minded activity programming – from solo dining experiences to yoga classes and music workshops – has a critical role to play in the hotel room of the future. ‘You start to get things that you don't have at home.’ But naturally, to support these myriad offerings, spaces must be designed more flexibly.
Likewise, the pandemic made Jafari’s team realize they ‘had an opportunity to blur the lines between what happened within common areas and within the room.’ With longer stays, he pointed out, consumers are to use these respective facilities more than ever before. ‘Every one of those spaces is going to serve a far greater function.’
Perrot thinks that COVID hasn’t changed the fact that hospitality is about interaction. But, as he explained, achieving a balance between privacy and openness while answering to guest-specific needs and desires is what makes for a premium experience. ‘We want to go into public spaces, to be connected to other people – not stay in all the time. But it is true that we need to always think of the room and ensure ways to provide something different to guests.’
Watch the full talk here:
