Hotel Restaurant Design

I’ve been to lots of trade shows over the past decade or so, but this week marked a first for me: a trip to NeoCon in Chicago. After navigating numerous shows set in single-level, hangar-like spaces, NeoCon’s multi-story layout in the venerable Chicago Merchandise Mart was a definite change of pace – and, I must admit, an enjoyable one. Show veterans told me to avoid the usually crowded elevators as much as possible, and in heeding their advice, I was rewarded with red-carpet treatment (literally) for using the steps. And opening the doors to each floor was akin to entering Oz, as each level was very distinct from the one above or below.

NeoCon is short for the National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, and it does include a hospitality section, which showcases the latest flooring, furniture and other accoutrements for hotels, restaurants, resorts, etc. This part of the show can help to fire the imagination of those interested in keeping up with the latest trends in contemporary hotel design. But the show also offered the sheer fun of wandering and stumbling upon the unexpected and the just-plain cool (and often, both). One such moment for me was provided by Karim Rashid’s Chakra chair for Raynor Contract. With its “zoo-morphic” structure, this futuristic seating is sleek and comfortable. Trust me on the latter; I plopped down in one and was very reluctant to exit. But there was the siren call of another floor to explore, with more insights into hospitality design trends to unearth…


 

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.

Do the hospitality market and design industry need yet another themed restaurant/ entertainment concept? Mark Advent, the guy behind the New York New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, thinks so. For that reason, Advent’s company has acquired the exclusive international licensing rights to develop, own and operate Orange County Choppers Roadhouse, a full-service restaurant/ bar/microbrewery/gaming/hospitality/ retail/entertainment experience.

The venue takes its name from the custom motorcycle brand that’s featured in the reality cable TV show, “American Chopper.” The restaurant design for the first outlet, an 8,500-sq.-ft. creation of Washington, D.C.-based CORE architecture + design, will feature a hospitality interior with a center bar and keg room, along with indoor/outdoor seating. That flagship will open this summer in Orange County Choppers’ hometown of Newburgh, N.Y. After that, locales are planned for Miami, Orlando, Las Vegas and Dubai. And how’s this for free advertising -- the construction, opening and ongoing business of Orange County Choppers Roadhouse will be highlighted in “American Chopper,” beginning in the show’s 2010-2011 season.

For a look at other new hospitality design concepts, visit Hospitality Style and check out its quarterly print edition.

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. 

I like the fact that both hotel restaurant design and concepts for freestanding restaurants continue to the blur the line between what's hot and what's haute. The latest example is San Francisco's Barbacco Eno Trattoria.

Its co-owners, Umberto Gibin and executive chef Staggan Terje, initially saw the new venture as a complementary offer to their award-winning Perbacco Ristorante + Bar just two doors away. Given the Financial District setting, the idea was that Perbacco would draw the CEOs and dealmakers while its new little sister projected the right attitude to attract mid-level managers and mid-spend foodies. But as The Wall Street Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle's online SFgate.com and other reviewers have reported, Barbacco's combination of Terje's creative Northern Italian food and CCS Architecture's edgy style have made this 66-seat eatery a popular choice for power brokers as well as their staffs.

Cass Calder Smith and his design team created a look that would fit Barbacco into Gibin and Terje's expanding brand family without just knocking off their flagship--also designed by CCS. The Italian accent was obvious, given the menu. What wasn't is the choice of the sexy side of Italian culture as inspiration--particularly, the yellow of the Ferrari emblem, lots of chrome, mirrors and elements angled as if they're ready to put pedal to the metal. Smith's not afraid to use marble alongside high density fiberboard, or polished chrome with rustic brick.






 

The current issue of Fortune magazine contains a thought-provoking featured entitled, “25 Green Myths Debunked.” Some samples: “Myth: Fluorescent bulbs are bad because they contain mercury/Reality: Yes, but not using them will pour even more mercury into our ecosystem”; and “Myth: Paper grocery bags are better than plastic bags/Reality: Plastics, young man, plastics... paper bags require four times more energy to manufacture than plastic ones.”

In honor of Earth Day’s 40th anniversary, we want to hear from the design industry about the common myths surrounding the incorporation of eco-friendly features into projects across the hospitality spectrum, including boutique design, casino design, cruise ship design, contemporary hotel design, restaurant design and spa design. For instance, is local sourcing of materials really as earth-friendly as thought, or does it have some unforeseen environmental consequences? And is it true that green design and luxe environments don’t mix? We want to hear from you – share your insights by clicking on the comments button below.

And to see some examples of cutting-edge sustainable hospitality designs, go to Hospitality Style’s Green Spotlight. Also, be sure to check out our upcoming Fall 2010 print issue, which will include a Green Guide.
 

Luxury hotel design, development and operations are jobs for specialists.

The decision by Carlson and Rezidor Hotel Group to sell their luxury Regent International brand to Formosa International Hotels Corp. (FIHC) says a lot about where the luxury hotel sector and high-end hospitality design are headed. It's a clear message that this field is being turned over to experts who understand the high-spend lifestyle. FIHC isn't just thinking about hotels per se. This diversified hospitality/retail giant based in Taiwan is taking a holistic look at fitting Regent into developments plans that include residences, shopping areas, restaurants and other features.

So, if you want to play in the five-star end of resort design and urban hotel design, it's time to dust off your residential and retail skills. But, if volume's the goal, forget the luxe market and start marketing modern hotel design solutions that work mid-tier to upscale. Just think about Carlson's goal of adding 1,500 hotels in those categories within five years, a plan detailed on Hospitality Style.

 

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.

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.