WATG LEADS THE WAY IN DISCOVERING AND DESIGNING FOR INDUSTRY TRENDS

It is not just about designing a place anymore. It is about designing an experience that flows from check-in to sleeping, to bathing to dining. Psychographic profiles are driving design decisions. It is not enough for a hotel to label itself as business or leisure. People are doing business while they play and they are playing while they travel for business. There has to be a degree of escapism even in business hotels. People want to go beyond their routine and try something new.

People are taking better care of themselves. They go to spas. As a result, guest bathrooms have to be more spa-like. More and more, they have natural light. In space-conscious, high-end city hotels, you will see large pampering shower experiences—rather than a tub and shower. The exception is a soaking tub where space allows. The one place in which bathtubs are still a must is in family-oriented resorts and then, usually, only in double-bedded rooms.

When guests work on their laptops, they do not want to look at a wall. They want to see a view, but they also want to watch CNN. They want enough space to do yoga or Pilates in their rooms. Guestrooms are getting bigger because they have to be multi-functional. Operators used to think that small rooms encouraged guests to go out and spend more in the restaurants and bars. Now, hoteliers definitely are seeing that guests are willing to pay more for the lifestyle experience afforded by larger guestrooms.

Guestrooms used to give guests a dining table. Then, they had to provide desks. Now, you might see a table on casters that can be rolled up to the foot of the bed. Guests can decide how that table is used—whether as a desk or a table for breakfast in bed. Designers have to think about how guests use the room. They need a place to relax and watch TV, a place to just lounge. They need to be able to customize the experience by changing lighting levels. Guests do not necessarily want the same lighting levels for dining as they do for reading in bed.

New forms of wellness are being incorporated. Guestrooms are being designed so that the bathrooms are becoming one with the room so that visual space is borrowed between the bedroom and the bathroom. Tubs are often being replaced by rain showers and toilets are being concealed in innovative ways.