The hotel guest experience begins long before they enter their room or suite, with the entrance, reception, and communal spaces all framing the way they view their entire stay. If you want to build a hotel business which keeps customers and guests coming back again and again, you need to focus not only on the presentation of the rooms but the experience as a whole – ensuring that from the moment they arrive on site they are welcomed and introduced to your brand identity.
Only then will they appreciate the distinctive design and attention to detail of each guest room and/or suite, with this blog sharing some of the ways of ensuring that the end to end experience is reflective of both your brand personality and what each guest expects from a great hotel stay.
The importance of the first impression
As soon as a guest steps into your hotel, they expect a level of service which is indicative of the overall experience that they are going to get. This runs from the interior surroundings to the way they are greeted, with everything from the furnishings to the facilities available framing the all-important first impression which can impact their response to everything that comes after.
As well as the design of the lobby area, consider the journey from check in to their hotel room – how well signposted the corridors of your hotel are, whether lifts are operational and efficient, and how well marked the individual hotel rooms and suites are. Finally, as they open their hotel room door for the first time, make sure that the space which greets them is stylish, functional, and memorable for all the right reasons – with the next sections carrying you through the intricacies of hotel room design and detail.
The design of your hotel rooms and suites
There is a trend in the hotel industry which sees different rooms in hotels given different names and designs – especially across boutique hotels which generate a feeling of exclusivity by giving each guest a room or suite which is unique and different from the others.
While this is no doubt easier to achieve in a small hotel with only a few different rooms to dress and furnish, there are elements of this which can be replicated in a larger hotel as well – giving each room or suite its own unique design flair in the form of art, colour palettes, or decorative accessories.
By paying attention to the presentation and guest experience in each room, you not only make your rooms and suites more distinctive and memorable but you also gift every guest a more exclusive experience which feels like it was made for them. This can be enhanced with little features and details offered in the way of memorable experiences and amenities which keep them coming back.
How to maximise space while making the room feel warm and welcoming
Contrary to popular belief, maximising space does not have to mean fewer items of furniture, and warm and welcoming does not necessarily mean a space is small. Hotel rooms can maximise the way they use floor space with careful consideration of how each item of furniture is placed within the room. Another approach is to embrace design features like natural light, with textures and light fittings contributing towards the presentation of a space as being warm and inviting.
If your hotel rooms are all finished with wooden or laminate floors for ease of cleaning and maintenance, consider adding a rug to each room to inject colour as well as to soften the aesthetic of the space. Frame windows with decorative curtains in a large room or suite, or make a small hotel room feel larger by replacing curtains with blinds which take up less space.
Small switches and changes can instantly transform the presentation of your rooms and make the feel both more elegant and more spacious – with all of these ideas offering ways of injecting your brand personality into the finish of each room.
Creating a successful hotel brand which will withstand the test of time
With so many hotels out there, tapping into all corners of the guest experience from rural and rustic to high end and luxurious, the best way to create something memorable and distinctive is to draw on your location and brand personality when dressing the hotel. Everything from the colour palette to furnishings, lighting, flooring, and facilities can reflect both the setting of your hotel and your unique branding, combining the two to make your hotel a destination in its own right rather than just somewhere to stay.
For hands-on advice on how to become the go-to hotel in your area, our hotel interior design team are here to help.