People visit hotels for all sorts of reasons, ranging from business trips or vacations, to even just getting away from their homes to break the monotony or have a change in scenery. Hotels are in the business of selling experiences via services and designed spaces. While services are an active way of engaging consumers, the designed spaces set the stage for these and elevate the experience. While the consumers actively consume the services, design passively engages the consumers and enhances the active experience.
Thus, design becomes key. Several external factors affect the style, theme and identity of the hotel. Each one of these factors has a multitude of possibilities. But they can all be tied down to the basics. If the design is implemented correctly, the halo effect causes the consumer perception to fall heavily in your favor. These are the list of experiences that play a key role in how the customers
1. Check-in Experience
The first impression of a hotel isn’t the services the hotel provides, regardless of how stellar they are. The first impression of the hotel is made when a tired, fed-up traveller visits the hotel and looks at its entrance. A welcoming ambience and a promise of comfort are surefire ways to win the approval of the customer. Ease of wayfinding and universal accessibility are ways to ensure consumer retention as it leaves the subconscious message of not only the people of the hotel but also the place cares for them.
2. Engaging customers with design in reception & the waiting lobbies
Once the visitors enter the hotel, the next step they go through is check-in at the reception. The reception must allow a connection to be developed between the hosts and the customers, enabling trust and comfort for the visitors. For this to be possible, it is essential for the reception to not be daunting. The reception should also be where the Hotel’s identity is communicated through design. Another significant factor for the reception is that it shouldn’t be too comforting, which makes people stay there and thus creates a sense of overcrowding.
A waiting area in the lobby should be visible and easily accessible from the reception. The visitors engage the most with the physical space of the hotel here. Their eyes linger when they wait for either the check-in or when they wait for their peers or family. Experiences should be designed to be in harmony with the hotel theme. Art pieces could be displayed to evoke a sense of luxury, or Arcade games can be used to make people feel fun and excited. A Fish tank / Fish Pond or a small indoor garden can be used to derive a sense of calm. The Design can drive the mood of the visitors in the space depending on the desired emotion.
3. Spatial experience while walking through the Hotel
The transit through the hotel also affects how the people are willing to interact with the surroundings. A deliberate design can make people walk quicker, or linger around in spaces depending upon the function of the space. Universal accessibility also becomes essential as the experience of even one group member or family drives how the lot feels about the Hotel. Consideration for everyone while designing transit spaces allows the hotel to form a sense of belonging for everyone.
4. The rest and bathing experience
If there is one factor that supersedes the others, it is the experience of the visitors in their suites. The key experiences a hotel provides are the resting and the bathing/refreshment experience, and that makes it important for hotels to do this right since it could easily make or break the image of the hotel in the minds of the customers. The quality of cushions, linens and mattresses should be at par with the expectations from the Hotel. The lighting used also affects the mood of the users, and hence, using warm lights helps wash a sense of calm in the users. The lighting, fixtures and surface finishes of the bathroom also greatly affect the hotel experience for the users. Along with both these factors, having a good storage facility for visitors is also essential.
5. Acoustics, Lighting & Colors
Enabling quiet through design is also essential in hotels, as people could be asleep or resting and a commotion in the passageways doesn't allow for a feeling of calm. Design can create spaces which encourage people to talk loud or quietly. Different materials have different acoustic capabilities and they should be thoughtfully used to allow for the best auditory experience. Lighting also greatly affects the mood of the space, and thus how a user feels. And various important studies have shown how color theory is very crucial in defining the mood and tones of space through association.
6. Providing apt value for its price.
A sense of luxury and indulgence is important in a high-end hotel, while a sense of security is essential to be established in a budget hotel. It is important to figure out the aspirational experience of the hotel to determine the design decisions and build around it to make a successful hotel business. These range from the materials used all the way to the spaces and functions designed.
To take care of these factors and the in-exhaustive list of nuanced details that are very important to build a successful hotel business, hiring experts is the easiest way you can succeed. The best passive way to build a positive brand image for the hotel is to have extraordinary Hotel Architecture and Design. We at Graniti Vicentia Group understand hotel designs and are extensively experienced to provide expertise. Visit our hotel design portfolio to take a look at our projects. Contact us to know more.
image Source: Pexels Credits: Photo by Pixabay