Rapid social changes and heightened expectations among the travelling community mean that every hotel has to think on its feet. They have to create a presence, a personality; they have to make their hotel stay an event. Here are a few trends that can help steer your hotel design flair in the right direction.
Make a grand entrance
First impressions count and your lobby is the handshake that greets every guest who walks through your door. Your lobby design decides whether that handshake comes with a friendly smile or diffident grunt. So while your front desk should be a welcoming hub decorated with bright and breezy staff, the modern lobby is now much more than that. It’s a multi-purpose space dotted with social zones and more intimate zones for business meetings. It has feature walls, waterfalls and gardens. It has character and charm.
Rethink your rooms
If you think the old hotel room configuration of bed-table-cupboard will still cut the mustard in today's market, think again. Modern travellers expect more. They expect to be surprised and even awed by their rooms. They expect design innovation, quirks and extra convenience. They expect such niceties as an extra sofa by the bed and, if it's predominantly a business hotel, a functional office desk.
'Bespokify' your bathrooms
And yes, there's no such word as 'bespokify'. There's also no such thing as a basic hotel bathroom anymore. Hotel bathrooms are no longer that tacked on room for private matters; they're experiences unto themselves. Explosions of colour, waterfall showers, large baths or spas, his and hers sinks and, just as importantly, tons of space are now expected in the modern hotel bathroom.
Localise your design
You're an Australian hotel and your design should reflect that with a real sense of place. One of the nicest ways to achieve that is through local art. And it can be as local as you like. Whether you’re a Bowral bedsit or a Gold Coast resort, discover the talents that bring the flavour of your area alive through art and splash it about with pride.
