Hotel design may undergo significant changes post Covid-19 pandemic.

Architects Ms. Ponni M Concessao & Oscar Concessao, Oscar & Ponni Architects, Chennai Corona virus has crippled the global economy, especially the hospitality industry. There are a lot of hotels that are

BY Realty Plus
Published - Wednesday, 16 Dec, 2020

Hotel design may undergo significant changes post Covid-19 pandemic.

Architects Ms. Ponni M Concessao & Oscar Concessao, Oscar & Ponni Architects, Chennai Corona virus has crippled the global economy, especially the hospitality industry. There are a lot of hotels that are out there that existed before that are set up already for social distancing, like small resorts where there are individual villas that have a lot of space between them. But the vast majority of hotels are built with many floors and elevators that people pack into, and narrow corridors that lead to hotel rooms and you're inevitably passing very close to other people, sitting in bars and restaurants in hotels, attending events. Hospitality Architecture will be working on reduced densities, and focusing on hygiene levels and standards for our air conditioning, materials, furniture etc. Hotels will also offer a range of amenities to help the guest room stay sanitized and fresh. There will be such things as ozone purifiers and the smart-disinfectant built-in closets, such the Air Dresser (a freestanding closet that cleans and de-wrinkles clothes). The guest room décor will evolve and bacteria-resistant materials will be commonly used. The trend toward light-filled spaces with cleaner lines and more contemporary forms will grow moving forward, and minimal to equate that it is easy to keep clean, fresh and crisp and forward thinking. Anti-bacterial switches, paints, laminates, and even fabric will become the norm for designing hotel interiors. Smooth easily cleanable surfaces and finishes with a contemporary flavor of design will be more popular. Less obvious to the guest, but critical to the solution of healthier environments will be an increased volume of “clean fresh air” while the amount of the air that re-circulates needs to be reduced. While the hotel industry has been slow to embrace LEED due to other needs and requirements, the need for healthier, cleaner and more environmentally friendly hotels is now upon us.

Social Distancing: Something as simple as pulling up in a car and having a valet take your car and park it in the hotel parking, that'll have to change. Hotels will likely provide more transportation services for guests, in addition to airport transfers. More services will be provided by hotels such as safe transportation to an off-property site and hotel-guided tours of destination locations so the experience is private and not a part of a crowd.

Checking in: A lot of hotels are adopting, remote check-in or self-check-in from kiosks and using direct-to-room technology, where you pre-check-in and use your personal smart phone to unlock a door. Once inside the room, they can use their device, or an installed voice-activated device, to control the lighting, temperature, and audiovisual equipment, as well as access concierge and other services.
Screenings: The design of entrances will possibly have to be modified to integrate rigorous screenings we are getting accustomed to seeing at airports. In such a scenario, zero-maintenance buildings, touch-free interactions, and technology based sanitization will evolve as a new normal for hotels.

Technology: There will be more cost allocated to technology, where one can facilitate minimum human interaction, the use of robots in housekeeping, automated entry systems, one-card identification systems, automatic lighting systems, sensor based lighting in common areas, sensor taps and gesture controlled flushing in public washrooms should become industry standard Hospitality projects at the top end of the spectrum may choose to redesign health clubs, salons and swimming pools to have proper social distancing, while these amenities can disappear altogether from mid-range and business hotels.
Materials: We may see a departure from the “rough” aesthetics that had gained some traction over the past few years, especially in destination tourism. There may be fewer carpeted areas, and the use of tiles and stones may increase.

Changing Role of Designers Architects and designers play a key role in outbreaks like this. Bio-security measures during an outbreak like the one we are seeing now will make use of antimicrobial materials, personal protective equipment, thorough cleaning routines and vigilant waste management to reduce the risk of the virus spreading. As in hospital rooms, we need to relook at Hospitality rooms, which are also relatively small, This case serves to remind us why interior designers and other professionals of the built environment, apparel designers, architectural designers and product designers, must always look beyond the obvious, to anticipate risks and respond to threats through better designs that proactively protect our health and safety. Architects will types have to be very innovative, to rise up to the challenges that are our world really is facing in these times and going forward, and will be playing a major role in solving some of these challenges. Periods of transition provoke experimentation. Some of the world’s top hoteliers and hospitality design firms are exploring new approaches to designing hotels that seek to reinvent the guest experience. By adopting a "co-creation" methodology that gathers input from users of the space during the creative process, to find out how they use a space, what technology they want and how they want to feel. Developers, hotel executives and business partners have a say in the design, of course, but so do guests and employees. The final payoff, is a design that really works for everyone who enters that hotel or retail store or restaurant or work place. No one knows what trends will shape hotel design a decade from now. One thing seems certain, though. Hotel interiors will interact with guests in new ways and offer environments that will cater not only to their desire for rest and relaxation but also to their overall health and well-being. They will do this by combining the latest technological innovations and biological science with centuries-old traditions of providing excellent service and guest care.