As we near the end of 2019, you might wonder what some of the Top Hospitality Design Trends will be for the start of the new decade. So we’ve gathered a list of 5 trends we think will be predominate in 2020.
1. Digital continues to transform the guest experience
As digital technologies continue to advance, it is no surprise that the future of the hospitality industry will continue to be driven by these innovative and powerful technologies. With the high number of tech-savvy travelers today, hotel brands continue to find ways to implement technology in a way to underpin the conveniences of the guest’s stay. Technology being introduced into the hospitality industry includes the same tools, apps, and experiences patrons have at home. This makes it easy to access and control things right from their fingertips. Hotels also are starting to integrate the use of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality. Doing this can allow for an increased level of customer service and engagement as well as allowing viewers to see highly realistic versions of things, such as their hotel room before booking or food from a hotel restaurant menu.
See examples of evolving technologies in the hotel industry below:
See Hotel Management‘s blog post: Smart devices create new opportunities for guestroom design for more on the topic.
2. Culturally immersive experiences
Culturally immersive experiences are becoming even more prevalent with the shift in today’s travelers valuing experiences over commodities and amenities. According to Skift, 67% of high-income travelers would put activities above a nice hotel room when it comes to spending their money.
For hotel brands to continue to be successful in the industry, this means creating unique local and personalized experiences for guests. Along with certain hotel franchises that are pushing this movement, local jurisdictions are also implementing development requirements that make new developments more culturally integrated with the community. Many jurisdictions are requiring local culture integration programs into any new development which in turn makes each new hotel a unique experience.
Cambria Hotel McAllen, Texas
3. Sustainability
As we near 2020, eco-friendly practices continue to become more prevalent as properties are focusing on what they could do to minimize their carbon footprint. As we’ve seen this year with the plastic straw bans, the number of consumers concerned with environmental issues is starting to climb as well as their interest in knowing how businesses are taking part in going green.
According to Diana Verde Nieto, co-founder and CEO of Positive Luxury,
“Millennials are twice as likely to support brands with strong management of environmental and social issues and expect brands to not only manage their impact but communicate it.”
Some key eco-friendly hotel industry trends pointed out by Dr. Legrand, a guest editor-in-chief in Hotel Yearbook, are:
Cutting down on food waste
Minimizing water usage beyond the hotel room
Eliminating plastic
Conserving energy
Creating a paperless hotel
Integrating sustainability into the hotel architecture
Learn more about the current trends in sustainable hospitality here.
BRP has designed numerous LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified hotels including:
Embassy Suites Denton (LEED Gold)
Embassy Suites Hotel and Red Wolf Convention Center in Jonesboro, AR (anticipating LEED Silver)
Cambria Hotel in Downtown Omaha, NE
Cambria Hotel in Downtown Omaha, NE (anticipating LEED Silver)
Cambria Hotel in Louisville, KY (anticipating LEED certification under Version 4 LEED)
4. Emphasis on health and wellness
Hotel guests today are putting emphasis on their overall health and wellness. Hotels are responding to this trend with elaborate fitness centers, pools, and spas. Many hotel restaurants as well are re-vamping their menus to accommodate healthier options and including meals for anyone with dietary restrictions such as gluten free, dairy free, low fat, vegetarian, vegan, and organic options. Some hotel Brands have begun to incorporate fitness opportunities directly into the guest’s room. Hilton has adopted the “Five Feet to Fitness” program where some of the guest rooms are outfitted with equipment and technology to support the guest’s fitness experience. Learn more about “Five Feet to Fitness” here.
The Tru by Hilton Syracuse-Camillus hotel that BRP designed is one example of hotels creating elaborate fitness centers. This hotel’s indoor sports court is very unique, as it is the only one in the Tru by Hilton chain. Guests can play pickleball, basketball, volleyball, aerobics, yoga, soccer, badminton, and more.
Tru Hotel Syracuse-Camillus, NY
The BRP designed Embassy Suites Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan is another example of the increased emphasis on health and fitness in hotels, as Hilton incorporated fitness opportunities directly into some of the guest rooms. This makes it super convenient to work out while you’re traveling, as these rooms provide a large variety of fitness accessories that support an assortment of exercises and fitness modalities to include strength, suspension, body weight, core, yoga, HIIT, meditation and family fitness options.
5. Extended stay hotels and the “Dual Brand” approach continue to dominate the market
The hospitality market is continuing to see interest and growth in the extended-stay segment. Extended-stay hotels outpaced overall U.S. hotel supply growth for the past six years. Between January and November 2018, the extended-stay hotel supply in the United States grew by 6.9 percent, adding more than 28,000 rooms to the segment’s inventory.
These hotels’ home-like amenities are responsible for their rising popularity among travelers. Leading examples in the extended-stay segment include Marriott’s Element Hotel, Hilton’s Homewood Suites, IHG’s Staybridge Suites, and Hyatt’s Hyatt House. For Hoteliers, the longer lengths of stay make extended-stay properties particularly attractive because this model reduces labor costs associated with room turnover.
BRP designed Homewood Suites in Schenectady, an extended stay hotel.
The “Dual Brand” approach also continues to rise in popularity in the hospitality industry. This concept combines two or more hotel brands from different price points under the same roof. This is used as a way for developers to streamline costs, as the different hotels keep their outside appearance and brand identity but consolidate their back-of-house operations. This allows for an increase in profits and appeals to customers at a variety of different levels in the market.
The Dual Hyatt House/ Hyatt Place that we designed in Fishers, Indiana is a perfect example of this. The hotel developers combined two of their hotel brands Hyatt Place and Hyatt House into one to save costs and appeal to a wider audience.
Dual Hyatt House/ Hyatt Place – Fishers, Indiana
Looking to keep your space on trend? Call us at 417-865-6100 or visit our website www.brparc.com for more information.