Designing a hotel is a team process that cannot be successfully executed in isolation. It requires a layered and synchronised hotel architectural team and close coordination with and input from the owner, hotel manager, consultants, and approval authorities. Professional relationships, trust, and shared vision are fundamental to delivering an on-time, practical hotel project.
The structure of the hotel architectural team can vary according to the developer’s resources, the hotel segment and configuration, the scope and budget of the project or master development, the availability of professional expertise, construction strategy, and project timing. There is no specific right way, but there are shortcuts that can cause issues and ultimately cause the project to fail.
Hotel Architectural & Design Team – Table of Contents
Principle Hotel Architectural & Design Team
In-House Architects
Where hotel project investment is being carried out by real estate developers, especially in emerging markets, it is common that the project team retains its internal architect or architectural team and other project resources. Such investors often focus on alternate commercial real estate, such as residential or retail, but they recognise the opportunity for hotel investment to exploit a market gap, diversify a portfolio, or support a master plan.
The existence of in-house project resources, including an architect, provides a tangible advantage for the developer since they know the micro market well. They also appreciate the needs of the investor, are established as a team, can deploy resources as required, can deliver at a more efficient cost, and are experienced locally with such vital elements as material and labour supply issues, authorities, regulations, and permitting.
Nevertheless, it is essential to recognise the limitations of the in-house architectural team as they are unlikely to have broad experience in hotels. The strengths of such a resource lie in their knowledge and familiarity with the market, for example, communicating with local authorities, cost savings in extensive systematic tasks, detailed design, and investor trust. Functions of the design process that necessitate hotel-specific proficiency, such as concept design and interior design, are best supported by external professionals, and the commissioning of listed experts is often a precondition of hotel operators.
Concept Design Architects
The role of a hotel concept (or outline) designer is to tackle and resolve the issues of the scale, mass and form of the hotel building. This vision needs to reference the hotel brief established in the feasibility stages and development limitations set by local building regulations and fit harmoniously within the social and commercial context of the surrounding environment. The output may initially provide for a range of uncluttered and relatively simple concept schemes, which are then examined and refined to maximise and balance functionality, quality, cost, and aesthetics.
This highly specialised role requires the individual or architectural practice to have extensive experience with hotel projects in the same segment as the project. It is the most critical part of the design process and arguably the most creative. This process element does not require a long timescale, and depending on the project, design resources, and verification of the concept brief/contract, it is achievable in as short as four to six weeks. However, it is essential that the project team fully approves the final concept. Indeed, it is often a valuable assessment and milestone to ensure the owner and the manager are on the same page and have the same committed vision.
A frequent error in emerging markets hotel design is to jump straight into the detailed design using the basic parameters of the site’s limitations or, driven by the administrative approvals process, advance directly to the building facades. This approach is often completed in-house or by architects who understand the owner’s desire for volume yield and the planning authorities’ cultural requirements but most often have little or no idea of the functioning of a hotel operation. Such an approach can cause immense damage to the feasibility of the final product, miss out on significant commercial opportunities, cause delays in correcting approvals, reduce product options/choices and add substantial cost to the development, which can break the feasibility of the project.
See also on HotelDevelopmentGuide.com:
- Hotel concept architect scope
- Selecting a hotel design professional
- Hotel concept design architect contacts
Detailed Design Hotel Architects
The detailed (including schematic and later working) design architect’s role is to refine the output of the hotel concept designer to produce comprehensive scaled and harmonised architectural plans ready for further elaboration by the interior designer, statutory approval and tender. By definition, this phase is meticulous and protracted, requiring a broad team of experts in universal and hotel-specific technical design. With the concept design agreed upon and the detailed design team in place, a regular stand-alone hotel typically takes upwards of six months to deliver the structural & MEP strategy concept, schematic design and tender documentation.
It is possible to execute the detailed design by a combination of in-house or commissioned general lead architects, together with additional specialist hotel designers (such as audiovisual and IT systems, fire strategy, kitchen, landscape, laundry, signage, spa), or with an international full-service architectural firm focused and precisely experienced in hotels. Since the detailed design phase requires close cooperation with local authorities, local presence and understanding are essential; however, this needs to be balanced with the knowledge of hotel systems so the design team does not go through a learning process, delaying the process and committing costly errors. Each approach has its merits and issues but is adaptable to a hybrid solution following the developer’s resources, the needs of the project and the budget.
See also on HotelDevelopmentGuide.com:
- Hotel detailed design architect scope
- Selecting a hotel design professional
- Hotel detailed design architect contacts
Hotel Interior Designers
The role of the hotel interior
The experience and scope of the interior designer must cover all zones relevant to the development property, including public areas, restaurants, conference and meeting facilities, outlets (unless highly specialised, such as spa or medical), guest bedrooms and bathrooms. The interior designer’s choice of fabrics, artwork, colour schemes, furniture, wall, ceiling and floor coverings, lighting and accessories must strike a delicate balance between aesthetic appeal, comfort, functionality, durability/reliability, technical flexibility, health, safety & security, brand conformity, cultural sensitivity, and procurement and operational cost.
In the case of a branded hotel, it is highly beneficial to have an interior designer who understands the brand design scheme; indeed, the hotel group may offer only a concise list of interior design options. Nevertheless, the interior designer must represent the investor’s interests before those of the brand, as the interior design suggestions and specifications significantly affect the cost of the hotel project.
See also on HotelDevelopmentGuide.com:
- Hotel interior design scope
- Selecting a hotel design professional
- Hotel interior design architect contacts
Kitchen Designers
Kitchen design and the technical interpretation of the hotel’s food & drink service concept into an efficient production unit is a highly specific design function usually beyond the scope of even the most qualified hotel-detailed design architects. Hotel brand managers with prescriptive hotel and restaurant concepts may provide generic kitchen layouts and often have scalable models of equipment requirements. However, besides the scalable demand of the main restaurant(s), each hotel needs to consider several other complex factors in the planning of the kitchen(s), including the hotel’s overall catering (outlet, guestroom, outside and employee) necessities, space limitations, and the specific environment and local relegations. It is possible to resolve the kitchen design issues between the architect, operator/brand manager, chef and developer or otherwise commission an independent kitchen designer with regional expertise to support the process and ensure the delivery of a functional, ergonomic, safe, compliant, capital cost-effective, energy-efficient, flexible, durable/reliable kitchen(s).
A modern commercial kitchen needs to consider technical conditions and cost factors, including the architecture, interior design, MEP services, and processes/workflows of employees, supply, storage and waste. With the high cost of capital equipment, the advice recommendations and procurement process must be independent and transparent, reflect the specific needs of the food service concepts in the property and be flexible to change in the future.
See also on HotelDevelopmentGuide.com:
Other Hotel Design Specialists
Back of House Design
Coordinating and space planning for support areas and access routes, including components such as offices, storage, bays, corridors, stairs, and the positioning/specifications of elevators. Design for functions such as hotel administration, employee changing facilities, staff flows, security, CCTV placement, housekeeping areas and flows, and engineering facilities and workshop requirements. Depending on the scope and experience of the detailed design architect or the technical agreement/scope with the operator, there may be a void in the delivery of back-of-house design to be filled.
Landscape Design
In most urban hotel projects, the design team’s brief already includes the landscape planning, design, and management of external spaces. However, for resorts whose business is driven by its external facilities (where the detailed design architect is not a resort specialist), or where the hotel has extensive grounds, or there are demands for sensitive external planning which necessitates environmental impact assessment, then a dedicated landscape architect may be required to supplement the design team. The landscape plays a critical role in the arrival experience. With the growing trends of experiential travel, lifestyle & fitness, and community engagement, dynamic exterior design is heightened. Landscape architects are professionals in the engineering and artistic approach to the landform and exterior structures, circulation routes, ground surveys, local authority planning, environmental site design, water treatment, biodiversity programmes, native planting, contemporary external equipment, furniture, lighting and finishing materials.
Laundry Design
The strategy for managing laundry wholly in-house or partially/fully outsourced depends on factors including availability of third-party laundry providers, quality control, capital vs operation cost, property space limitations, and local regulations. It is usually possible to resolve the laundry design issues between the architect, operator/brand manager, housekeeper and developer. However, where the strategy favours a full in-house laundry, it may be beneficial to engage an independent laundry designer to support the process and ensure the delivery of a functional, ergonomic, safe, compliant, capital/labour/energy cost-efficient, durable/reliable laundry. Trust in design provision from laundry equipment suppliers should be avoided unless there is technical and operational knowledge of laundry facilities within the project team. Hotel back-of-house or kitchen designers often partner with laundry specialists to provide a complete package. The designer needs to factor linen/uniform flow processes (incoming dirty, weighing, sorting, washing, drying, spot control, ironing, folding, stacking, wrapping, storing and distribution), detail specific placement for the utilities and equipment, provide utility schedules that specify water, power, gas, drain, incoming airflow and exhaust requirements and providing MEP drawings for the building contractors.
Spa Design
Hotel spas vary significantly in size, have a broad range of styles and facilities, have a distinct infrastructure and ambience from the hotel’s leisure, and offer, as a minimum, separate reception/changing facilities, thermal baths or suites, treatment/therapy rooms and rest areas. Where the spa is core to the hotel and drives significant destination business or is substantial in size (above 600 sqm), the engagement of an independent spa consultant/designer is likely to be beneficial unless the hotel operator is spa resort-focused and has an in-house spa team.
As a lifestyle product, spas are subject to evolving trends, markets and competition, requiring high capital, labour and utility expenses. Thus, before any definitive planning is undertaken, the feasibility needs to be well-researched, and a clear business plan, bespoke concept, and design brief need to be in place. The design brief must include conceptual zoning (including seamless BOH functionality), space planning, sketch layouts, room data sheets, MEP/FF&E guidance, and operating equipment identification and recommendation. A spa consultant can assist the project team and hotel operator in the unique aspects of spa recruitment, training, SOPs, pre-opening marketing and other services or be retained for the spa management or ongoing operational support and advice.