All About the Guest
by Jaime Forth

In a recent interview with Hospitality Design Magazine, creative icon Jeffrey Beers was asked to name the inspiration that ignites his projects.

“It’s all about the guest,” he said simply. He repeated it often. He obviously meant it.

He’s right, of course. Restaurateurs and hoteliers looking for the newest fashion, the latest innovation and the hottest trend must always be guided by that basic precept. Happily, there are strong indicators that in the middle of a poor economy with more bad news on the horizon, Americans are still engaged in discretionary spending—they’re just planning more carefully, celebrating more thoughtfully. And since the most recent advances in design are centered on a fresh interpretation of comfort and aesthetics, the hospitality industry is at the forefront of this movement.

When you’re in a slump, what do you do? You seek reassurance; you crave inspiration; you want to be entertained, even—because laughter is good medicine. Hospitality is more important than ever because it can provide the relaxed surroundings, the hearty meals, the restorative beauty that people instinctively reach for when the chips are down.

These days, hotel and restaurant owners are challenged to become masters of innovation as they juggle necessary upgrades to their facilities, slashed budgets and more savoir faire among their guests. Some properties, like the Hilton Garden Inn and the Homewood Suites, have successfully blended their two brands to create a joint welcoming space for different types of customers. Their new property in downtown Jacksonville is evidence of the fact that two heads can be better than one. Up-and-coming restaurants, such as Atlanta’s new Holeman and Finch Public House, have tapped into the public’s desire for friendly, sociable spaces where friends and neighbors can gather over beer and a simple meal with basic ingredients—think deviled eggs, ice cream floats and corned beef hash. In Iowa, the AmericInn between Des Moines and Omaha provides the first car charging station in the country for travelers who drive electric cars. These businesses have shown extra resourcefulness and wit in addressing their customers’ needs for comfort and convenience, and this is a trend that will continue over the next several years as we seek new and imaginative ways to navigate the fine line between boom and bust.

So the new theme is comfort, achieved through simplicity, authenticity and good design. And hotels and restaurants of all shapes and sizes are jumping on the bandwagon. To create more warmth in dining areas, for instance, many eateries are carving out small dining rooms as adjuncts to their main rooms. For meeting planners, this is a bit of good news because small rooms can be very effective at capturing intimacy for parties. Other features such as handsome ventless gel or ethanol biofuel fireplaces are used indoors and out to create charming conversational areas without contributing to higher energy bills. And speaking of outdoor areas, recycled fabrics are growing in popularity for tables, chairs and even umbrellas.

The design concept for sleeping rooms has shifted as well. In boutique lodgings, expensive wall art is being replaced by newer elements, such as inspirational stenciled messages. Other features, like glass walls, colored bed linens, pull-down window shades, bedside tables lit from within, exposed brick walls, and wool blends for seating covers, are practical ways in which environmental concerns can be addressed without impinging on basic principles of good hospitality and comfort. Major hotels are emphasizing understated elegance—an art that requires reserve and discipline. They’re blending classic and exotic looks for a more individualized look and feel, expanding the vernacular through clever use of light and color. In hotel lobbies, the new emphasis is on conviviality—fewer walls to make room for beverage venues, plug-and-play stations and grouped seating arrangements.

New color palettes have begun to emerge this year. Traditionally restful shades of green and blue are being updated with a more sophisticated range of hues. Sparkling aquamarines, chartreuse, silvery blues and pearly grays are accented with tangerine, lemon and periwinkle. It’s a colorful world out there, and the dramatic use of tint and lighting can do more than anything else to enhance the mood of a room. Even shades of white, seen before as the epitome of crisp and clean, are being supplanted by caramels, golds and camels.

Using nature and natural elements to create an emotional link to spaces has been widespread in the past few years. That’s because many travelers—conference attendees, long-haul drivers, families—yearn for fresh air. Restaurants have been meeting that need with outdoor cafés and patios; now, hotels are following suit. Some are building room patios that bring warmth and sunshine to otherwise pale surroundings. Other properties are dressing up lawns with bird houses, mazes and obelisks to create visual interest and to maximize use of outside acreage. The sentiment also extends to parking lots, where artistic signage, flower pots and objets d’art now adorn these historically overlooked areas.

The bad news: Nielsen Business Media estimates that car rental rates will decrease 1 to 3 percent in 2010, and it expects sleeping room rates to decrease 2 to 8 percent from 2009 figures. The good news: Comfort and beauty are things the hospitality industry knows a lot about. Properties that make smart use of space and that design with an intent to soothe and delight guests should weather this temporary storm with good long-term prospects.

Miami’s Fontainebleau Hotel redesign was completed earlier this year, and Jeffrey Beers’ energy and passion for larger-than-life ornamentation can be seen throughout the property. This is where ostentation is King—designed to attract movie stars, super models and millionaires with a taste for nightlife. Beers knows it’s what the clientele wants: the bow ties smiling up from the lobby floor, the cobalt blue lights of the salon, the billowing curtains around the pool chaises. This northerner who travels the globe to create jaw-dropping spaces has retained his sense of wonder. He has remembered, too, the cardinal rule of hospitality: It’s all about the guest.