Originally published in AAHOA Lodging Business, September 2008

It's Got the Look

In-room Design Gives a Lasting First Impression.

By Dan Marcec

A guest’s first impression often can be the last chance a hotelier has for repeat business. Leisure travelers, and especially businesspeople, oftentimes don’t spend a large amount of time in their room. When they arrive, they’ll go in, put down their things and head out the door. How important is the lasting image in each guest’s mind to their repeat business? If they don’t want to go back to the room while they’re staying there, the chances they’ll come back are slim to none. Lodging Operator interviewed designers from two major brands as well as two textile manufacturers to see what options are out there with regards to in-room design, and to gauge the importance a first impression truly can leave.

Both Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Accor North America recently rolled out new hotel designs to promote, among other things, style recognition in marketing to a new generation of guests. Yet, both explain that even though Generation X and Y travelers are beginning to saturate the marketplace, there still must be a balance in making rooms accessible and attractive to guests of all ages.

For Accor NA’s new Motel 6’s prototype, Phoenix, the company interviewed guests extensively while it was undertaking the design process, taking into account the opinions of both brand loyalists and people with no particular affinity for Motel 6. Perhaps the most unique part of the market research, though, was the fact that they employed two design examples — one with color, and one that was completely white — in order to gauge not only the look but also the feel of the room.

“We consciously knew that there is a clear distinction between usage and aesthetics, and the latter is not always user friendly,” says Jim Amorosia, chief operating officer for Accor NA. “We knew we needed efficiency for space and look, and we also needed something to catch the eye of the people looking forward. So much relies upon that first impression, especially in the economy sector.”

While Starwood’s new concept aloft is influenced differently, each meets the same challenge a designer faces when creating a standard look — how to create a style that will be modern and unique, attractive and functional, yet still cater to a wide variety of guests?

“We are targeting Generation X and Y with the way we’re emphasizing the lobby and public spaces, but we’ve had guests from older generations come and respond very well to the room design,” says Christine McGinnis, director of visual communication for aloft and element. “The guests rooms are colorful, energetic, and comfortable, which are not age-sensitive elements.”

aloft's unique all-in-one bed setup.

Unlike brands that (in some ways) can cater their prototypes or designs to specific markets, textile manufacturers must remain abreast of wide-reaching trends in order to meet the needs of a variety of clients. As a result, these companies can remain on top of current trends happening today while retaining a wide exposure that helps them plan for tomorrow as well.

“Bed, linen and window treatments need both to be functional and aesthetically pleasing,” says Dan Hannula, general manager of Decorator Industries, commenting on a general room aesthetic. “Draperies need to open easily and offer light control and privacy for the guest, while bedspreads and linens must be clean and comfortable.”

Balancing cost with quality can also be a challenge, and according to Hannula, more than half the cost of finished product is fabric. Also, he says, the more treatments added to the beds and windows multiply the cost quickly. Brands often have minimums that can guide individual hoteliers, but keeping in mind some of these factors can help save unnecessary cost — “too much” style might distract the guest more than an unattractive room.

“No matter where you stay, the look of a room is the most important aspect,” says Angela Shabilla, who manages public relations and marketing for A&M Hospitality. “Oftentimes, we will balance solid bed and window treatments with a patterned carpet, for example, which brings more focus to the bed as the centerpiece of a room.” 

As triple-sheeting becomes more popular, bedspread production is in decline, and accent pillows, headboards, neck pillows and other bed accessories are becoming the norm. Variety is always important, but consistency is also important. Balancing these style elements and can be difficult, especially when trying to conceptualize how every individual guest will react to a room’s look.

The challenge in prototype design comes, then, not in creating something that will be attractive now, because modern style does in fact stretch across age boundaries. The issue is practical: in such a highly competitive market, there certainly is the need to be on the cutting edge, but what happens when the “cutting edge” is out of style in five years? For the individual hotelier or franchisee, updates are very expensive, and what seems like a great, chic design now could be problematic down the road.

“It’s an age-old question: how do you make a design timeless?” says McGinnis. “But, that’s a question we’ve asked, and we’re taking a look at how to refresh the design, incorporating elements to the basic room style that can be updated. The function is conceptually sound, and that will make it easier to pick up on small aesthetic changes in the future.”

Amorosia agrees. When Motel 6 gathered its market research, the question was dual: what do the customers want, of course, but also, what are they going to want? The Phoenix prototype includes composite wood flooring, which makes the room easier to clean — a very important facet of guest satisfaction. By lengthening the room and incorporating a wardrobe that also fit the flat-screen TV, the bulky dressers we done away with, allowing for a leisure area and a workstation without adding to the overall space. Simple, small changes are key, and maximizing  space is also a great way to make a room feel cozier and more inviting.

“For us, maintaining Motel 6’s integrity as the leader in price value was the key when we conceptualized the design for Phoenix,” he says. “The challenge was to mix quality with economy, but really, that is not all that far-fetched.”

Inside Motel 6's new Phoenix prototype.

Similarly, aloft kept in mind spatial issues, incorporating both a closet and night tables into the headboard of the bed; coupled with 9-foot ceilings, the room feels very open and comforting.

“It’s critical that when guests open that door they can feel comfortable in dropping their bags and taking a load off, and that first impression is key to a quality experience,” McGinnis says.

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