Insider: Five Hot Tips on Designing Your Hotel Lobby
By Roger Hill, Chief Operating Officer, Gettys
Mr. Roger Hill
The lobby of your property sets the tone for your guests’ stay. An inviting communal space can thrill, delight, comfort, or even disappoint your guests. Your lobby immediately tells a story about your hotel and provides an enormous opportunity for you to make a powerful first impression. Your lobby speaks volumes about your brand and the quality of your property.
Lobby design is evolving. From their first steps to your vestibule, guests expect more than ever — standard registration and concierge services don’t always cut it. Today’s hoteliers can produce distinctive areas not found in competing hotels and offer something unique to their guests. The modern lobby needs to be more than a transitional space — multi-functionality is essential.
How do you choose among the myriad options? Do you add a technology station, coffee shop, lounge, live music, games, or something else entirely? With travelers feeling the crunch of today’s economy, how do you make your lobby as inviting as possible? As your guests’ first point-of-contact, your lobby is critical to making that first impression. It can be difficult for hoteliers to distinguish between truly meaningful enhancements and avoid the trap of trends that don’t necessarily add value.
Your lobby is a promise. It lets your guests know what to expect from their rooms, restaurants, shops, and every other part of your hotel. It is up to you to make sure the rest of your hotel delivers your promise and satisfies your guests. As important as it is to have a stand-out space, don’t create a lobby that is incongruous with the rest of your hotel. Consider your guests’ demographics, the physical space, your style, and the functionality you need to incorporate. Analyzing these characteristics helps you lay the road map for the space.
While creating a great first impression, you also can use the lobby to generate revenue. Offering food, drinks, other creative retail options — and more — is a win-win situation. Your guests get on-site access to the products they want and need, and you realize additional income.
In the Hotel Business Review, my article, “Five Hot Tips on Designing Your Hotel Lobby,” I discuss how you can design your public space to maximize its utility and make an impression on your guests. I give five fundamental considerations to focus your decision-making and help draw out innovations. Your challenge is to develop a unique space that is multi-functional and inviting. Your goal is to make your lobby an oasis. Read on for details on how to make it happen.
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Sincerely,
Roger Hill
Chief Executive Officer
Gettys
312-836-1111
info@gettys.com
