Hospitality Design - December 2011 - 39

trends: lobbies

perspectives
By Stacy Shoemaker Rauen

social butterﬂy
It’s no secret that big brands constantly need to reinvent themselves to stay relevant. And it seems the latest tweaks have been happening in the lobby. From established names like Holiday Inn and Hilton, to new ones like TRYP, brands have ﬁgured out that lobbies can be—and should be—more than a pass-through space. Instead, they are turning the lobby into an integrated social outlet that not only increases revenue, but also gives today’s guests the complete experience they’re craving. “The question is, ‘How can you put in players that can activate the space day and night, like a town center?’” asks Jennifer Johanson, principal of San Raphael-based EDG, who has designed multiple F&B venues in lobbies such as Dallas’ Hilton Anatole. “Everything shouldn’t be so compartmentalized. Guests want to congregate and socialize and F&B is a driving part. The amount of global interaction and travel that is happening and the fusing of cultures is pushing everyone’s boundaries.” space,” he says, adding that the program has been implemented in half of the appropriate Marriotts. “It has driven guest satisfaction higher and that generally provides a halo effect over other areas of the hotel.”

Andaz
The same year as the M.I. Great Room came online, Hyatt launched its Andaz brand, partly based around the very idea that the lobby should be different. “From speaking with our customers, we realized that the lobby in the past acted as a transactional place,” explains Tristan Dowell, Andaz’s brand director. “We wanted to remove those traditional barriers and create something that is far more engaging, as if I was welcoming you to my home.” When guests enter an Andaz, they can check in with a host standing with a tablet, sit down with the host at a computer, or at some hotels, via a kiosk machine or the app on their phone. And the hosts, says Dowell, let guests customize their experience. “Many like the fact that they can have more of a one to one interaction, as a platform to carve out their own hotel experience.” Now Andaz is using the lobby as a place for community-driven, local gatherings with the launch of Andaz Salon.

Marriott
“We created a platform that transitions from a.m. comfort to p.m. cool,” says Matthew Von Ertfelda, VP of creative strategy for Marriott International, of the company’s M.I. Great Room concept. “Guests are no longer satisﬁed with transient areas. We needed to accommodate and cater to guests’ needs as they change throughout the day. It needs to be a holistic and multifaceted program—not about adding dimmers, but about

TRYP
In creating the concept for Wyndham’s new select-service brand TRYP, BBG-BBGM made sure the lobby was a central component. Dubbed Plaza Central, the “entire lobby is casual and comfortable,” says BBG-BBGM’s partner, Amy Jakubowski, “an open space made up of various components.” There’s a welcome area, communal table, bar, library, and gastrobar, which taking its cues from the brand’s Spanish origins, acts as a three-meal dining area serving breakfast in the morning and tapas throughout the day.

Above, from left: The M.I. Great Room at the Portsmouth Marriott Hotel in the UK; a rendering of TRYP’s eclectic, casual, and integrated lobby.

In order to shut down the a.m. buffet “but not have it look shut down,” Jakubowski and her team hid service elements inside pieces

providing a comprehensive design effort and a complete redesign of how we provide F&B, seating, and technology for a 360-degree experience.” The M.I. Great Room concept rolled out in 2007, but Von Ertfelda says they are looking at ways to reﬁne and enhance the concept even further. Soon, ﬂatscreens will feature digital artifacting content “to change the atmosphere from day to night and from market to market,” and they are researching how to integrate work space even more into the public sphere “since today’s consumers are really blending how they use

that look more like furniture. “A collection of items live within the space without it looking like empty raw space,” she says. The plaza’s zones are like gigantic puzzle pieces, giving owners ﬂexibility when mapping out individual hotels. There are a few signature, brand-deﬁning elements, however, like the postcard light ﬁxture over the communal table and chesterﬁeld sofas. “It’s an eclectic mix of things, the brand deﬁning elements and local elements—a mix and match,” Jakubowski explains. “Since the brand is spirited towards a younger

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - December 2011