Hotel & Motel Management - January 7, 2008 - (Page 56) 56 Roundtable DESIGNER ROUNDTABLE H&MM January 7, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Consumers rule, say designers Q Hotel Design: What role does the consumer play in a new design or rebuild? How much consumer research is done? What elements of the hotel are most impacted by consumers? Deborah Lloyd Forrest: There are two parts to the answer. From the brand side, brands spend a lot of time researching their customer, segmenting their product to pinpoint a specific demographic. They define it and research it. There’s another segment of the industry, which represents the more unique type of property. It’s more owner-driven, developer-driven or location-driven, and may be more of an emotional response from the owner to the public, as opposed to, “I’m targeting Jeff and his demographic.” And that’s the hotel I design. Amanda Schafer: The biggest consumer focus would be in the guestrooms. That’s where you’re focused on what the consumer notices. Robert Polacek: The concept of restaurants goes back to the menu concept as well. That makes us more focused on who that consumer is. It’s usually based on location as well. They want you to be able to maintain their day-to-day [routines], and also entertain them and not have them feel like they’re missing out or being Jeff Jensen, principal of HKS Hospitality, talked about how consumer preferences drive design trends. “We design for the female guest,” he said. left out of their brand identity as a consumer. It makes us focus on how we incorporate that into a design. It’s sometimes a challenge to make that happen. Jane Humzy: One of the trends I’ve noticed in the last few years is that consumers are much more confident and demanding, especially in North America, compared with CIRCLE NO. 151 Europe. They certainly have higher expectations. There’s a much stronger sense of wanting something special or feeling more individual. They’re always looking for something fresh. A way to satisfy that demand is to differentiate. From what we’ve seen, consumers are looking for a special experience. How to create that is to develop something that looks different from the everyday that they might see in a store, for example. There’s a real need for uniqueness in that environment that hotels create. Q Hotel Design: Jeff, how do you stay fresh? How do you keep offering things in hotels that haven’t been done before? Is it adding team members to make the creative flow go smoother? Jeff Jensen: It extends beyond the building. It’s in the interiors, furnishings, guestrooms. It’s in the landscape. At our firm, we try to get all three to mesh— landscape, interior design, architecture—with the location. That’s what a consumer is looking for. When they go to Costa Rica, they want to know they’re in Costa Rica. Operators have embraced authenticity. We design guestrooms for the female guest. We’re going See Consumer trends | page 58 I I I I I I I I Deborah Lloyd Forrest, principal of ForrestPerkins, talked about how design must be flexible around technology, since innovations change quickly. CIRCLE NO. 152 H&MM ALL PHOTOS | JEFF HIGLEY http://www.HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.namepins.net http://www.namepins.net http://www.therefinishingtouch.com
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