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Text: Ar. Anil Badan, Principal Architect, Studio B Architects, New Delhi

Hotel design is critical to establishing an impactful experience for your guests, planners and their attendees and employees. It symbolises the target demographic, communicates the brand’s promise and emphasises the services on offer. As the hospitality sector is extremely competitive, hotels struggle to engage with customers with personalised experiences. Guests choose spaces that reflect their objectives, tastes and ideas about what a hotel should be.

Local art is widely displayed in hotels, which allows guests to experience the local culture and establish a connection with local artists and enterprises. The entrance, dining areas, guest rooms and hallways are excellent locations for artwork. One can sell the artwork to visitors if the owner wants a constantly-changing location. For hotels located in culturally and linguistically significant areas, they hire local firms to design their buildings to reflect their customs, culture and legacy. Thanks to globalisation, people like to purchase local paintings, decorations and clothing to connect with the tourist spot.

On the other hand, local art forms and artists are diminishing day by day. This is due to advancing technology and globalisation, and because visitors aren’t ready to bear the price. As these local artworks are exhibited in hotels, guests examine them closely. They are more expensive as compared to basic art pieces as they are handmade, which aids in their promotion and desire to keep their value intact through generations.

When designing a hotel, one must balance functional and aesthetic layouts to create a facility that works for the owner, employees and visitors. The design influences the hotel’s profitability, as flaws in design impact the hotel’s operation and valuation as well. Earlier, people would buy grand showpieces for a visually gorgeous home. Today, they have compact spaces and must balance between aesthetics and utility. Hotels don’t use huge chandeliers, excessive lighting and ornaments to welcome guests, but prefer simple and practical décor and furniture.

Smart and creative interior design is visually interesting, positive and increases the hotel’s operations and revenue. Fictitious rooms increase the space’s value, promotes utilitarian features and has a positive impact on the guests. The rooms must have simple features, such as hooks, drawer pulls, doorknobs, switches and faucets. The seating spaces must be well-lit and comfortable, such as with overhead lighting and table lamps. Lobby spaces must be accessible to people who use mobility devices, along with open to foot traffic. High-traffic areas must have durable flooring, along with signage and complementing colours for mixed-use spaces.

As functions are needed in smart home design, designers must balance between a tranquil aesthetic and utility. Multipurpose rooms in hotels conserve space and lend modern sophistication to the space, while partially separating spaces and removing doors to create an open environment. The fewer materials are chosen, the more consistent, minimalistic and open the space looks. For example, the living room has a panelled wood ceiling, while the dining room has wooden furnishings. The guest rooms must have simple and multifunctional cabinets and furniture, and the open kitchen diversifies the restaurant’s area and provide a high-quality live kitchen.