Dome Discussions: How do you create an identity for the hotel experience?

How can design be used to create a distinctive hotel experience that is rooted in its location and offers guests a sense of place?

Now more than ever, modern travellers seek a guest experience that is individual to the place they are staying in, and feeds into the wider experience of a destination. How can design be used to create a distinctive hotel experience, and how do you strike a balance between creating unique, location-specific experiences for guests and maintaining consistent brand standards?

Thought-leaders working across the hotel sector joined us in the Dome at The Department Store in Brixton for a lively discussion, sharing trends and experiences in the hotel industry. The conversation threw up questions including:

Should hotels relate to place or is the brand more powerful? What are the driving factors behind selecting a hotel brand and a designer for a site? Is offering guest facilities to the local community a trend that’s here to stay? Does retrofitting buildings compromise or provide opportunities for hotel design?

Building an identity around the location rather than the brand can be a key differentiator

With the saturation of multiple hotel brands, Artiq’s Tazie Taysom suggested that building an identity around the location rather than the brand can be a key differentiator, arguing that anchoring hotels to their locale can enhance guest loyalty and repeat visits.

At the recently opened art’otel London Hoxton, branding is integrated with local context with an architectural design by Squire & Partners that is inspired by the local area’s technological history, while maintaining art’otel's brand identity centred on art, thereby differentiating it and enhancing its appeal.

Destination is more important than brand, in Leon Warner of Sydell Group’s opinion. “No two NoMad hotels will be the same. We always look to local artists and local communities for inspiration, and then reflect that in the experience of the hotel.”

Squire & Partners’ Maria Cheung thought there was a place for both approaches. Having worked on the Bulgari hotel in London, where the brand presence is large and offers guests a consistent Bulgari experience in its look and feel - regardless of where the hotel is in the world, conversely when working on the recently opened Ruby Zoe, the brand worked with the practice to inject inspiration from the Notting Hill culture and history into the interior design.

Daniel Blaker , Nulty, agreed that there is a way to craft an overriding design narrative with a localised strand, suggesting that light is a powerful tool in this respect, as it can be used to create an engaging and consistent ambience, interspersed with decorative elements that reference the local area.

“We have, though, found ways to challenge this approach,” remarked Hamish Kilburn of NO Uniform. “The doorperson uniforms at Rosewood London, for example – a hotel slap-bang in the centre of London – have been designed to play on a country-chic theme. Generally speaking, I think there is more creative freedom now in design, fashion and service, to push projects confidently in different directions.”

William Aitken , Cumming Group, submitted that the approach will be predominantly owner driven, but brand standards and location can be balanced, working together to create a unique offer which delivers the quality of service and facilities that are associated with a brand, as has been achieved with Warner Hotels.

Taysom agreed that a branded approach can be folded in, giving an example from a recent project where the motif of a hotel brand's iconic logo was the starting point for the artistic exploration: "It's an important signifier of the brand that will be reinterpreted by local artists wherever it's being reproduced in the hotel. I think you can still fold in that local connection, even if it's not the championing voice."

Market conditions often drive the choice of hotel brand for a site

"You have to try and find a balance between being an all-rounder and being niche"

The choice of brand will be driven by the market, in Philip Camble of Whitebridge Hospitality’s experience: “For us, it's always market driven. We look at the market opportunity, and then spend time with the developer discussing their brand expectations versus the opportunity that particular site presents.”

Expanding on this, Marc Finney of Colliers explained that developers need to understand whether they want a hotel that appeals to a wide range of markets, across a spectrum of activities and motivations for staying – leading to larger brands with access to different customer types – or whether they want to create something niche which dominates a particular market, be that leisure or business. “The problem you have then is, if you’re too niche, for example targeting trendy adults in their leisure time, who’s going to be paying for the hotel on a Monday or Tuesday night? You have to try and find a balance between being an all-rounder and being niche.”

Kilburn observed how quickly market conditions can change, citing David Rockwell’s redesign of W New York, Union Square, twenty years after first designing it to reflect the area's evolution – underscoring the importance of continuously reassessing and adapting hotel designs to stay relevant.

Community integration in hotel design is here to stay

Murray Levinson , Squire & Partners, discussed how hotels like art’otel London Hoxton are opening up their facilities to the wider community, from bars and restaurants to art galleries, creating a welcoming atmosphere. The opportunity and potential for this, Kiernan Moriarty of Lifestyle Hospitality Capital pointed out, does depend on the vibrancy of the community. Speaking on the financial benefits, Moriarty and Kilburn agreed that engaging local artists and offering community-focused services can indirectly contribute to revenue.

The accessibility, circulation and space planning of these shared spaces is key to their success. Separating check-in areas from F&B spaces avoids creating uncomfortable environments for guests who wish to relax. Camble offered that Rosewood London has F&B outlets with access from the street which is critical to ensuring their financial viability, by eliminating barriers between the restaurant and passersby. Kilburn explained that NO Uniform’s designs for Rosewood London were specifically created to make the hotel feel inviting to step into. Designing uniforms that make employees feel valued, and creating inclusive environments that can improve staff wellbeing and retention, ultimately enhances the overall guest experience.

A key consideration for Warner is asking, “What and who is in the area, and how can we cater for them too? We’re about riffing off what’s in the community. For us in Covent Garden, we have the Royal Opera House next door – so instead of competing or becoming internalised, we offer afternoon teas before shows. It’s being a facility for people in the community, not just guests staying with us.”

The unique opportunity of bringing together guests with the wider community is the mixing of different types of people and the energy this brings to hotel spaces, Blaker observed. “I think if you sit in a hotel bar, you come across different cross sections of society which makes for an interesting dynamic.”

Successful design partners are able to create unique, location-specific designs that resonate with the hotel's narrative and brand

Nesrine Tourqui of Cedar Capital stressed the need for flexibility, innovation and collaboration among design team members, with a focus on creating unique, location-specific designs that resonate with the hotel's narrative and brand while also respecting the building's history and context.

The group was in agreement that successful projects rely on early and ongoing collaboration among all stakeholders, including designers, architects and clients. This collaboration helps build trust, ensures alignment on project goals, and facilitates the development of a cohesive narrative and design vision.

Designers need to balance their creative ideas with the client's brand and project requirements. Tourqui commented that a well-defined brief from the client can guide the design process, but allowing some creative freedom can also lead to innovative and inspiring results. Effective communication and understanding between clients and designers is crucial.

The unique opportunities that working with existing buildings bring can outweigh the challenges

Repurposing existing buildings, especially those with low floor-to-ceiling heights or other structural limitations, can be impractical. Many existing buildings do not meet the metrics needed for profitable conversions, which can make new constructions more efficient despite environmental concerns about embodied carbon.

However, Warner, who primarily works with heritage buildings, thinks retrofitting can provide opportunity: “Whether they’re listed or buildings that can’t be altered much, often they don’t fit the purpose of modern office usage but are more easily converted into other use classes, such as hotels. You have to be flexible in the modelling of the hotel, which requires the brand to be flexible, too.”

Working with existing buildings can create character-rich spaces that resonate with guests and the local community.

Designers need to be flexible and creative in adapting these buildings for modern use while maintaining their architectural integrity, which often involves rethinking traditional hotel models and finding innovative ways to utilise available space effectively. In conclusion, working with existing buildings can create unique opportunities to breathe new life into them, and create character-rich spaces that resonate with guests and the local community.

Thank you to our guest speakers for sharing their experiences and for facilitating such an insightful conversation to kick-off the first in our Dome Discussions series.