The guest of today is more interested in design than ever. How can hotels deliver on such expectations while remaining culturally relevant and practical? Paige Lee Pei Qi finds out in BLINK Design Group’s Roundtable held at the recent HICAP Update event in Singapore
From left:
• Paul Wiste, Regional director of development, Jumeirah Group
• Eric Levy, Managing director, Tourism Solutions International
• Marcus Aklin, Vice president, development, ONYX Hospitality Group
• Marc F Dardenne, CEO, Patina Hotels & Resorts
Not pictured:
• Vincent Yeo, CEO, CDL Hospitality Trusts
• Arjan De Boer, Senior vice president of development and technical services,
FIH Regent Group
• Fabrice Burtin, Commercial director, Quo Global
• Christopher Chua, Director, BLINK Design Group
• Howard Wolff (Moderator), Chief marketing officer, Space Matrix
WOLFF Where do you see the greatest opportunities for design to impact a hotel’s top and bottom line? Also, a lot of design firms get criticised by clients as only being interested in winning design awards. How have design awards impacted your business?
DARDENNE Design is a combination of things. Would an award help? It elevates the expectations of guests so it is important to make sure the service is good too. But if, for example, you can’t find a switch in a room that’s beautifully designed then it misses the point and defeats the purpose.
WISTE A well-designed hotel is not just surface texture but it is how the back end is designed that really makes the difference. If you can deliver that, then you have a great hotel and this will impact the bottom line. Design needs to be practical. A well-designed space is sexy not just in the image, but in the quality and efficiency of the loading docks too.
DE BOER If we won a design award we would feature it in our marketing collaterals for sure because a lot of developers are interested in the design of properties.
WOLFF What are some examples of how innovative ideas can generate buzz or create memorable guest experiences without having to cost a lot of money?
LEVY Facilities programming is critical for me. Design just has to work operationally.
AKLIN One of the ultimate drivers of our Ozo brand is design, and this is something we emphasise. This is a way in which we differentiate with others. Working with local materials is something else we build into design – which is not just a ‘value’ solution even though it helps – it creates a story for the hotel.
BURTIN Beautiful design is the management of the space. It is not about hidden switches, black corridors or minimalist design, which we see more and more. It is about effective management of the space, which budget brands are doing so well these days.
Some budget brands are beautifully designed but they don’t win awards, as they are not avant-garde enough. But for me design needs to be based on functionality and not just aesthetics, and this is something some budget hotels do very well.
AKLIN In terms of return on investment, design definitely plays a role and should provide a difference.
WOLFF Sometimes it may be about making iconic design statements. I never forget the men’s toilets at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, for example, where there’s such an incredible view. This has created real value via word of mouth.
DARDENNE You could say that of the Rock Bar at Ayana (Resort and Spa) in Bali too. It is a real statement and makes a major difference. It creates a talking point and a story too.
Resorts need differentiation without costing a lot of money. Sometimes it is just ingenuity and innovation – or a great idea well executed.
AKLIN Out-of-the-box ideas are very important. This is the challenge for designers.
BURTIN This was achieved brilliantly through a radical industrial chic concept at Indigo Pearl in Phuket. It is very unique. You either love it or hate it. But if you love it, and a lot of people do, you’ll choose to go there as it is different and suits your tastes. Because it is so unique it makes the competition irrelevant. This is how it can provide a clear correlation to RevPAR. Owners need to make some hard decisions if they are to be successful and not try to be everything to everybody.
WOLFF Today hotel companies seem to be relaxing their brand standards and no longer insisting that all properties have to look alike. If that’s the case, what design features will distinguish one luxury brand from another?
WISTE For us the glue for our brand is not lookalike (hotels) but cultural relevance. It needs to stand the test of time. I insist on making sure guests wake up in their rooms and know where they are.
Our design guidelines can be technical – and all about acoustics and the like – but we do not have standard floor plans, for example. Stay Different is our tagline. Generations X and Y have very different design preferences – but for us luxury cannot be defined by technical standards but through intuition or service. Knowing your name when you show up and not always so much about the visual delivery. It is the overall delivery that is important.
LEVY This is a huge challenge for larger brands as the larger you get, the more vanilla you can get.
CHUA It is important for the brief to be clear from clients and for them to give us all technical specifications so that we have guidelines for our work. Once we have these we are able to work out the practical and functional elements of a hotel so product delivery can be seamless, stylish and efficient.
On top of that we will assess the space as a whole so that we are able to design a unique space that feels right. It is a combination of elements that provides the interplay that creates string design.
WOLFF What are some of the luxury trends in South-east Asian markets?
WISTE The new and most compelling trend is reduced guilt. The focus is now much more on sustainability. I don’t need Italian marble. I can get it in Indonesia. This is an emerging trend. But it is not done directly for sustainability.
It is more about creating an authentic experience such as Indigo Pearl and the hotel in Shanghai that uses old iron ship hulls to cover its walls. There is a way to give back – providing authenticity, originality and insight for guests to create a memorable and unique experience to that destination.
YEO I think that we live in a world that is more interested in design than ever before. We don’t want to go overboard in terms of spending, but the real value for an owner is in creativity on the product part. It helps rationalise manpower requirements too, which is important with rising labour costs.
CHUA From a practical standpoint again, we often design hotels that do not yet have an operator on board. In fact this happens more than it does when there is a management company appointed. So firstly we need to know what type of operator the owner is considering so we can design what we can first and then be as flexible as possible so that we are able to adjust the design to the operators’ brand standards and preferences. It can be difficult, for example, to design not knowing how many F&B outlets there will be and how much kitchen space is required. But also at the end of the day we need to be prepared to throw it out and start again!
This article was first published in TTG Asia, June 13, 2014 issue, on page 12. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.
