Integrating authentic local design and the guest experience
Emphasis on locally relevant design has become a major trend in the hotel industry. Modern hotels aim to provide a far more personal and authentic experience to create a better connection between guests and the local culture. Without any type of localisation, guests could be forgiven for thinking they were anywhere in the world! With the increasing demand to integrate the guest experience with local culture, interior designers are finding new ways to incorporate local touches within the design of the hotel and ultimately create a greater sense of community for travellers and locals alike.
As interior designers, our job is to fully embrace the local community, understand who they are and how this should be reflected in the design. In this piece, we’ll discuss the importance of bringing in locally relevant design to your work, our design process and how the impact of COVID-19 will influence hotel design forever.
Understanding the brand ethos
Understanding the brand ethos is a key part of the design process. Before we move forward with a project, we collect as much information as possible. We root ourselves in the local area, examine the history and design of local buildings, understand the history of the area, speak to local businesses as well as scoping out the local competition.
All of this information goes into what we call a “design narrative document” which helps inform the basis for the design of the hotel. We’ll add anything else we find worthwhile (i.e., mood board images, colour palettes, textiles) and continually pull references from that into the design. For us, a strong design document is a crucial component throughout the process and something we continually refer back to at every stage. It helps us ensure that we instil a unique flavour in each project and acts as a reminder for our overall strategy as we move through the project.
Bringing locality into the design
Every one of our projects is unique – whether we’re working with a smaller boutique hotel or a large hotel group. The development of a strong design narrative document is imperative here.
To give an example of where the vitality of this step in the process was highlighted we can look at our recent work with the team at the Hilton Glasgow Hotel.
Our brief was to create a unique interior design concept that would re-establish Hilton Glasgow as Scotland’s premier function destination. As a landmark hotel in Glasgow, we understood the importance of locally relevant design which could pay homage to the culture and heritage of the city. Strong linear furniture patterns gave a nod to renowned Glasgow artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh, while the bespoke carpets and fabric selections celebrated the soft organic curves and light brush strokes found in a Margaret MacDonald painting.
Similarly, our Leeds Marriott project utilised many references to the local area in the design. In collaboration with the hotel’s existing designers, we provided expertise to help shape the interior design for the refurbishment of this hotel. In a previous life, the building was used by a tailor who pioneered ready to wear fashion. Coupled with the area’s excellent reputation for fabric production, we built a thorough design narrative document based on fashion, textiles and tailoring with mood boards, colour palettes and furniture samples. Ultimately, this resulted in the creation of a warm, friendly local and relatable design that inspires and engages guests.
We’re now starting work on an exciting upcoming project and our team have recently spent three days scoping out the local area. This trip will be extremely important in forming the basis of our design narrative and we will be referring back to it at various points throughout the process – watch this space!
It’s worth noting that to bring locality into the design, hotels don’t need a complete overhaul but rather can introduce subtle local references whether that be displaying artwork from a local artist, murals representing the location of the hotel or preservation of historical architecture. Even modest enhancements can echo the feel of the location, create a welcoming ambience and ultimately transform passing visitors into regulars.
Speak to the staff
When creating a design narrative, we’ve found it’s important to take a holistic approach, getting this right means paying attention to every detail from multiple sources. Hotel staff are one of the hotel’s richest sources of knowledge on not only the hotel but the guests - how the hotel operates, the target market and the local area as a place to live, work and play. Quite often hotel staff understand the hotel’s unique selling points and their guest's motivations – whether they be corporate or leisure, better than anyone. Don’t forget they are also great ambassadors for the community. Their knowledge of the local area adds serious value to the overall guest experience and in return, can be extremely helpful when researching the local community.
The impact of COVID-19
We all know COVID-19 has had a major impact on the hotel and travel industry with the phrase “staying local” has taken on a whole new meaning in recent months. Now more than ever, adaptability is key. People are spending more time in the local area and hotels need to adapt to avoid missing a very big opportunity. Gone are the days of hotels simply being used for passing tourists and business meetings and instead there’s a greater emphasis on them creating a sense of place within the community.
To protect an industry massively impacted by the lack of travel, hotels need to be adaptable to survive and engaging with the local community is key here. Bringing locality and viewing the hotel as a community space can help to inform the design whether that be creating more of an open and welcoming lobby space down to stocking locally produced food and beverages.
Before COVID-19, we did start to see a trend in hotels positioning themselves as a ‘cultural hub’ with exercise classes and restaurant deals attracting locals as well as outsourcing services to local businesses and we can only see this growing post-pandemic.
We’re also seeing a boom in the demand for outdoor spaces, again this grew from a COVID-19 necessity.
With the increasing demand for authentic and memorable experiences and the change in consumer behaviour in a pandemic world, it’s never been more important to integrate locally relevant design into hotels and engagement with the local community is key.
Our team are well experienced in commercial interior design and having worked across numerous new build and conversion properties in our time. We love drawing inspiration from our wider projects to create aspirational, striking interiors, which set you apart from your competitors. We know how to take your project from concept to creation and can work with you to make the process seamless.