Catching the next wave in hotel design

Destination

What does the hotel comeback look like?

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design

Five currents in today’s hospitality market

Wellness haven

CURRENT 1

In the return to travel, wellness has taken on new meanings. It’s about much more than health and fitness. Wellness in hospitality is about a guest who feels at peace, physically and emotionally in the environment they find themselves in. They may find it in fitness classes or foods, or it can be a bit more abstract. It’s about a freedom to move around and explore. But is also suggests that the ventilation is good, the surfaces are clean. And natural materials can enhance our feelings of well-being.

Sofitel The Palm

Dubia, UAE

Baixiang Wutong Dachang

China

Monarch

Gambrills, Maryland

Los Olas Walk

Miami, Florida

Baixiang Wutong Dachang

China

Time to renovate!

The life cycle for hotel refurbishment or renovation is between 6 to 8 years. Hotels that were due for a refresh in 2019 or 2020 are past due for renovation. So while many hotels are booked up again, they’re also making plans to renovate.

In the meantime, the cost of materials and labor has increased, so owners need to balance the need for a new look and feel with tight budgets and changing tastes of the various segments of travelers they want to engage.

CURRENT 2

San Juan Hotel

Miami Beach, Florida

With our redesign of the historic San Juan hotel in South Beach, we re-envisioned the property’s original postwar style with nautical-inspired touches.

Aloft

Miami Beach, Florida

Built on the site of the former 1954 Motel Ankara, the original four-story structure was restored, and a new eight-story tower added to transform the site into a 235-room resort.

Beijing Wangfujing

Beijing, China

Extensive renovations honor China’s rich past and celebrate its flourishing future.

"A hotel that was up for renovation in 2019 before the pandemic hit might be 10 plus years out from its last renovation. For many hotels, they have no choice, they need to renovate. The brands require it. And hotel occupancies are back up."

—Duk Kim

Building reuse

Supply chain issues have driven up the costs of raw materials and consumer goods. It’s a challenging building market for owners. For owners that want to open a new property, it's likely less expensive to buy an existing building and renovate it or convert it from an office to a hotel rather than build a new hotel from scratch.

CURRENT 3

260 Franklin Street Redesign

Boston, Massachusetts

Telling a story

CURRENT 4

There are many different demographic targets out there, and they all have different tastes. We're seeing a proliferation of brands that want to connect with all kinds of travelers. At the same time, today’s traveler is looking for opportunities to socialize. Brands want to tell a story, often about the building, its history, and its neighborhood, in social spaces and guest rooms.

Hotel Zachary

Chicago, Illinois

The Gale

Miami Beach, Florida

Stantec redesigned 87 guestrooms to emulate the understated Italian chic and 1940’s glamour.

At Hotel Zachary, we designed the hotel to serve as a dramatic counterpart to the historic ballpark with guest rooms that evoke nostalgia for 20th Century Chicago.

Hotel Zachary

Chicago, Illinois

The lifestyle hotel

A range of new brands and offerings have popped up in recent years to respond to the Airbnb phenomenon. Today, hotel brands want to offer the cool lifestyle experience at a lower price point, even in a hostel concept, to compete with the personality and price point of homestays. Others are competing at the high end.

Lifestyle hotels encourage the guest to socialize, to see and be seen, to do things in public. So that third place, that engaging common area, or that café that becomes a bar or coworking space, is a new essential at either end of the market.

CURRENT 5

Dalian on the Park

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Virgin Hotel

New York City, New York

Contact Global Hospitality Leader Duk Kim to learn more.

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