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Hospitality projects often come with bigger budgets and greater scope for creative freedom. But there are inherent challenges too, particularly in the current economic climate, a group of industry experts warn.

Hospitality projects are the holy grail of the design industry. Hand in hand with your average hotel project comes variety, enhanced scope for creativity, increased exposure and, more often than not, hefty budgets.

But the average hospitality project is also fraught with challenges – most notably, juggling the demands of the operator and the owner, who often have surprisingly different priorities. “Our biggest challenge is to blur the line between the hotelier and the hotel owners’ expectations,” noted Anne Kuzyk, head of interior design at Aukett Fitzroy Robinson.

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The earlier this process begins, the better, she added. “We are often the last consultant to be appointed to the project. In many instances, it is long after the building has been designed by the architect and MEP consultants, and in some cases before a hotel operator has been appointed,” she said.

“Interior designers inherit spaces that may not work for a hotel operation, with guest bathrooms that are too small, or awkward-shaped spaces that cannot fit the requirements of a restaurant,” Kuzyk explained.

The scale of a hotel project means that there are countless parties involved, from the owner to the operator, the developer, architect, fit-out contractor, procurement company, in-house purchasing team, and operations and housekeeping teams. And each has a very distinct set of requirements.

The role of the interior designer, then, is to align the visions of all these different partners.

And in order to do so, it is essential that everybody is working towards a common, clearly defined goal, suggested James Carry, principal in charge and design director, Wilson Associates. Over the six years that Wilson Associates worked on Atlantis, The Palm, the firm had to co-ordinate with more than 30 different contributing consultants.

“It is important to keep in mind that there needs to be clear communication, 100% of the time, between all consultants. If issues are not addressed from the start of the project, they will never go away. My advice to owners and operators is to pick their consultants based on team capability, not on a fee, and to trust them to execute the vision,” Carry suggested.

This is particularly important at a time when hotels are facing intensifying competition. With hotel guests becoming more and more savvy and discerning, designers are under extreme pressure to create highly emotive, immersive, holistic experiences.

“The current major trend is the global lifestyle issue,” said Kuzyk. “Guests are not just concerned with the convenience of location, level of service and the size of guestrooms. What counts is the overall guest experience; a magical word that encompasses just about everything, from the appearance and style to the attentiveness of the concierge; from the cachet of the chef and the atmosphere at the bar to the crowd that it attracts; from the spa treatments to the state-of-the-art gym.”

Chuck Wood, managing director of Rockwell Group Middle East, reiterated the need to establish an “emotional connection” between hotel and guest. “I think that there is a growing focus by operators and owners on creating and developing a hotel product that is really focused on building a very strong emotional connection with their target guest segment and that is very much at the heart of how we approach any of our projects — creating an environment that is immersive but builds strong connections with the guests and allows people to interact in very pleasurable and positive ways,” Wood explained.

This is partly achieved by creating a product that is connective and emotive of its physical, cultural and historical location, Wood continued.