Given the current renovation trends, if you don't have some piece of an atrium lobby or big-box public spaces on your boards now, you probably will in the near future. Some renewed signs of life in the MICE market are persuading owners of conference hotels to spruce up the offer near-term. The challenge is going to be how to make these caverns into appealing, third place destinations.
EDG Interior Architecture + Design's Jennifer Johanson is using movement to get rid of the dead zones in the atrium lobby of the Hilton Anatole Dallas. Her piazza concept, with its gardens, restaurants and small town center vibe, is intended to draw conference attendees and guests into the new gathering space. But even the coolest restaurant design or lounge seating isn't going to keep people in motion in the lobby 24/7.
Johanson and her team turned to kinetic art for a solution. Here's a sampling of what impressed them:
Above is a work by Reuben Margolin, a San Francisco bay area kinetic artist known for making motion with complex constructs of materials from wood to cardboad.
So take that inspiration and set some hospitality design trends--and, if you have time before the holiday weekend, send in a project to compete in the European Hotel Design Awards.
Award categories include the best architecture of a hotel, both conversion and newbuild. Interior design categories for various spaces including guestrooms, bar, restaurant and lobby areas. Other awards celebrate innovation, sustainability and the two final awards recognize outstanding contribution to the industry and the European Hotel Design of the Year. They will be announced November 23 as a kick-off to this year's Sleep Event Exhibition in London. The deadline for entries is the 28th May 2010. Get entry guidelines here.
Like it or loathe it, technology continues to change the look of hospitality interiors. Front desks are shrinking as guests not only accept but embrace kiosk check-in and smart key cards for their guestrooms. Restaurants glow with interactive table tops, and guestrooms have lots of in-room entertainment toys and gadgets. 
But, how much automation do travelers really want and how should that influence hospitality design trends? Maria Vafiadis, managing director of London-based MKV Design, advises designers to match the tech treats to the guest profile. In other words, ask yourself what you'd want. The answer probably won't be one-solution-fits all since people's needs change depending on the purpose of the travel.
“In the course of an exhausting business trip, straightforward technology that smoothes my progress from boardroom to bed is welcome. But during a holiday, “unplugging” from technology gives me the freedom to slow down. Designers must get the balance right if the potential of automation is to be realized,” she says. “Parading the latest hi-tech in a hospitality environment doesn’t always improve the experience. Cutting-edge gadgetry might add to the sexiness of a trendy hotel, but in luxury resorts or in fine dining restaurants it’s concierge, not computer service, that guests expect.”
Having racked up more than her fair share of frequent flyer miles, Vafiadis shares ideas on how to wield technology as a design too and her vision for what's next with projects like the new villas at Crete's Blue Palace Resort and Spa.
They say you have to spend money to make money. InterContinental Hotels Group is putting tha
t axiom to the test, twice over, with its Holiday Inn unit. First, IHG is plowing $1 billion into upgrading the contemporary hotel designs of more than 3,300 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels worldwide. (Thus far, more than 2,200 hotels have relaunched under the new look, which includes updated hotel guestroom and bathroom designs, as well as new exterior signage. The remaining 1,100 properties under the two flags are slated to be updated by the end of this year.) And now, the company is launching a $100 million “Stay You” ad campaign in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Mexico, Latin America, Asia and Australia to tout the benefits of its modern hotel design to consumers.
“‘Stay You’ is the biggest advertising campaign in the 58-year history of Holiday Inn,” said IHG ceo Andy Cosslett. “The level of support behind this campaign reinforces our confidence in the Holiday Inn relaunch which positions us well for the upturn in the econom
y when it comes.” It looks like IHG’s timing may be good – several signs point to an uptick in the hotel industry – so their big bet on reinventing the Holiday Inn brands may pay off big, as well.
For the latest hospitality design trends by other big-name hotel brands, check out HospitalityStyle and its print edition.
The latest takes on this hospitality design trend showed up in two new openings this week: The luxury Fairmont Pittsburgh and the affordable boutiqe Hotel Indigo Nashville Downtown (Nashville, Tenn.). They target different markets in different locations, but they share a focus on uncluttered, contemporary hotel design. Think the three Cs: color, comfort and casual elegance.
With its plush headboard and bed covers and the hand-made look of the textiles, the Gensler-designed Fairmont Pittsburgh takes hotel guestroom design into new territory in terms of luxury without ostentation. What could be more welcoming after a day of hurried business meetings?But comfortable doesn't have to mean boring. Nor do
es it take much to make a statement. Strategic pumpkin colored accents do the job at the Fairmont. 
The new Indigo Nashville Downtown puts a spin on contemporary hotel design with its chic palette and a few eye-catching focal points. Playing up circular lighting concepts adds an contemporary hotel design edge within the historic framework of the historic buildings that house the 97-room hotel. The theme starts at check-in....Phi Bar picks up on the hospitality lighting design trend, taking advantage of the soaring ceiling.
See how lifestyle hotel design is being re-invented at the top of the market.
Four new examples of contemporary hotel design will open their doors in coming months in
Slated to open in the fall is the five-star the Ritz-Carlton, Toronto (rendering at bottom left), that flag’s only locale in 
These new hotels are part of an overall building boom in
One opportunity to see all this development firsthand is by attending this year’s International Retail Design Conference, which is run by Hospitality Style’s sister publication, VMSD. That event will take place October 13-15 at
Lesley Purcell, of London-based interior design firm Can Do, offers guests the option of crashing on huge round beds or the more standard rectangular models amped with sumptuous coverings and deco-inspired casegoods.
But, since not everyone wants to live like a rock star, Fuller and Purcell developed options such this blushy French-accented escape (below).
Fuller's theory is that neither hotel guestroom design nor operations should dictate how guests live in their home away from home. "You shouldn't be able to walk through a hotel and know who's sleeping and who's partying. It's not the hotel's place to tell guests whether 9 a.m. is too early to cavort in the Jacuzzi or whether 3 a.m. is too late to order a steak. As long as a guest's request is legal, the hotel staff shouldn't question it. They should just get on with it," says Fuller.
See more here and give us your thoughts on whether Fuller delivered.
Maybe I'm just tired of bad news. But at least some of the indicators coming in from the hotel companies and consulting firms seem to point to a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel for hospitality operators and designers.
- Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels' Hotel Investment Outlook 2010 predicts this year's transaction volume will increase by 20 to 40 percent over 2009, the first rise in two years. In dollar figures, that could represent $11 billion to $13 billion worth of hotel purchases in 2010. Fortunately for designers, most of the new owners will be looking at hotel renovation and/or rebranding and repositioning. The most likely targets for your marketing push, whether for hotel architecture projects or hospitality interiors: Asian conglomerates seeking prime assets in key markets, especially in the U.S. and U.K.; sovereign wealth funds, primarily from the Middle East but also from Asia; public markets, thanks to a new wave of IPOs, rights issues and mortgage and equity real estate investment trusts (REITs).
- Average U.S. occupancy was flat in January, according to Smith Travel Research, but there were bright spots. Markets worth focusing your business development efforts on might include: Seattle, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami in the U.S. Internationallly, consider Rio de Janeiro; Beijing and Shanghai; major Australian gateways; Berlin, Moscow, Athens, Milan and, not a little surprisingly, Tel Aviv. Occupancy was up 47 percent in January. The Lebanese Tourism Ministry reported a 21 percent uptick in occupancy in 2009 versus 2008.
Howard Wolff, senior vice president, WATG, says the lion's share of the firm's current hospitality projects is located outside of the U.S. Asia is number one, but the Middle East (mostly outside of Dubai) is still strong. North Africa is another region to watch. At home, he says, it's mostly about hotel renovation.
Hotel chains are taking advantage of softer occupancy figures to freshen up hotel guestroom design as well as increase the appeal of the hotel restaurant design and conference center design. InterContinental Hotels Group is just wrapping up a systemwide renovation. Hyatt's also in the race to deliver contemporary hotel design and lifestyle looks. For more, go to:
http://www.hospitalitystyle.com/content/hyatt-hotels-focus-renovations
For inspiration, check out the new Hotel Le Germain Calgary. Lemay Michaud Architecture Design, Montreal, design and project architect for this urban boutique hotel, and Christiane Germain, Groupe Germain's co-president, envisioned the 143 guest rooms as "wooden treasure chests" clad in warm, natural wood. Inside, there's a trove of clever touches for both guests and the hospitality design industry at large.
Here are some of the hospitality design trends that can make even a standard bay memorable.
For example, a trio of task lights adds an edgy industrial chic to an otherwise natural guestroom environment:
Another idea likely to set hospitality design trends is the flip-down night table shown below:
As in residential design, most utilitarian items are being putting on display. For this property, that includes drinks and glasses that usually would be stored in a minibar--a nice way to merchandise products that drive in-room sales:
Even luggage storage gets "designed" thanks to the impact of a textured wall covering and the cleanly angular casegoods:
Check here for more hotel design ideas.
Photos: Michael Alberstat, Toronto
With nearly a month of 2010 behind us, the fog is lifting a bit and we're starting to get a clearer picture of what's ahead for the hospitality industry this year. The consensus from the hotel designers, restaurant designers and spa designers I'm talking to for the March Hospitality Style relaunch is that they're feeling the start of a turnaround. They're not exactly laying in a supply of Dom Perignon, but they are seeing some follow-ups from developers on RFPs.
What's more interesting is what those developers want. The hottest hospitality design trends for projects on firms' boards are about not being trendy at all.
Jim Stapleton, vice president, FRCH Design Worldwide, Cincinnati, predicts design will take a more conservative turn. His reasoning is that lenders and investors aren't going to turn over the mountains of capital needed to hire a Frank Gehry or Santiago Calatrava. Nor are they going to risk investing in a torquing tower that might turn into a money drain as R&D problems drive up the bills. "You're going to see a lot more boxes," he says. But, they'll be better boxes, in his view. New materials give the look for less, so why not apply a Topshop or H+M mentality to guestroom design, restaurant design, even spas?
For more inspiration on the latest, see the galleries on our site.
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