NEWH - Winter 2018 - 4

GUEST PERSPECTIVE

Your New Hospitality
Design Partners:
Employees
BY ELIZABETH O. LOWREY-
Principal, Elkus Manfredi Architects

otel developers juggle daunting design challenges: How can they build spaces
and amenities that delight a wide range of guests today and tomorrow, create
memorable experiences, and also embody a unique brand? Can design overcome
the fickleness of today's consumer and leverage the influence of websites where consumers
compare experiences? At Elkus Manfredi Architects, we've developed a design process that
manages this juggling act. We call it co-creation, and lately we've discovered a wealth of
wisdom hiding in plain sight: Some of the best design ideas come from employees.

How co-creation works

Elizabeth O. Lowrey

Co-creation begins traditionally as the developer, management, and other leading
stakeholders set high-level guidelines with the design team. Then the process opens up.
Designers hold open-ended conversations with customer-facing hotel employees-desk
staff, concierges, restaurant workers, operations people, doormen, valets, and others.
Designers solicit stories, asking, "Can you tell me about a time that a guest was surprised
and delighted by a feature of a hotel? When, where, and why do guests get frustrated or
impatient? Imagine you could do one thing to make check-in easier-what would that be?"
Next, designers translate these comments into fresh and innovative solutions using their
whole toolkit-from subtle shifts in traffic patterns to reimagining whole spaces. For
example, the redesigned LINQ hotel in Las Vegas wanted its target millennial audience to
feel an energetic, hip vibe from the moment they entered. Employees noted that the check-in
process was slow and sterile. We blended the areas so that checking in also previewed a
feeling of hanging out. In the newly designed lobby, undulating stadium seating doubles
as stairs across from an open check-in area. Nearby, we placed niche bar banquettes, bold
lighting transitions, eclectic seating, and tables in wood, metal, leather, textiles, and stone.
When you enter LINQ, you know there's a party going on, and you're already part of it.

Co-creation means engagement
In addition to inspiring designs that will delight guests, the co-creation process itself shows
employees that they matter. When you tell employees, "We're asking you to help design
your future," they react with greater engagement in their jobs. Engaged employees are more
motivated to delight guests, and employee engagement is key to customer loyalty. How
often do frontline employees actually get to participate in a creative process that makes
their workplace better?
Elizabeth O. Lowrey is a principal of Elkus Manfredi Architects, a full-service design
firm providing architecture, master planning, urban design, interior architecture, and
workplace consulting. She has directed the firm's interior design practice since its
founding. Her work includes a wide array of transformational projects for internationally
celebrated clients, including Caesars Entertainment, Walt Disney Imagineering, the
Peninsula Hotels, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, now part of Marriott International. In
addition, she has directed the design for a number of higher education, residential, and
workplace interiors projects. Admired for her sophisticated design eye, business acumen,
and skillful management, Elizabeth attributes her success to her collaborative approach
with her clients, a prime feature of Elkus Manfredi's innovative co-creation process. ❙❘❚
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NEWH - Winter 2018

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