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HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW

NOVEMBER FOCUS: Architecture & Design

 

Wellness and Sustainability in Hospitality Design

By Darin Cook Partner, AIA, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects | November 2021

The hospitality industry is embracing wellness and sustainability as keystones in the design and operation of their properties to create unique guest experiences, to build their brand identity, and to design environmentally sustainable hotels for their guests, staff, and the greater community.

Wellness, though perhaps a broad or elusive term, is concerned with the holistic well-being of the body, mind, and soul.Nature and the built environment have a deep and direct impact on people's health and well-being, and this is where responsible architecture and landscape design join to create vibrant and nurturing places and spaces that invigorate the body, refresh the mind, and soothe the soul and makes a client's stay as meaningful and eco-friendly as possible.

In the context of the hospitality sector, creating a wellness culture requires a holistic approach which must consider Design, Technology, Sustainability, as well as Operations and Food and Beverage offerings. Many of the primary issues concerning wellness in hospitality design, are encapsulated in the WELL Building Standard™, first created in 2013 (and updated in 2020) by the International WELL Building institute (IWBI), "which is concerned with delivering more thoughtful and intentional spaces that enhance human health and well-being."

The core concepts of WELL: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, and Community, are interwoven with sustainable design practices and together represent strategies being adopted, in a variety of manner, by hotels globally to fulfill the promise of an integrated wellness experience. These concepts are discussed in greater detail below:

Air

Good air quality is paramount for human health and with COVID masking requirements in public spaces, hotel guests and staff have developed a keen awareness of and appreciation for clean, fresh air.

A number of air purification technologies exist to improve indoor air quality including filtration: HEPA and MERV (13+) filters; ultraviolet disinfection (UVC light); electrical ionization (bipolar ionization); and catalytic oxidation. These technologies, when combined with improved ventilation and in-duct cleaning, are particularly effective in shared indoor spaces such as hotel restaurants, lobbies, and fitness/wellness centers.

Reducing indoor air pollution has been a LEED standard requirement since its inception in 1994 and calls fora thoughtful selection of materials with low VOCs (volatile organic compounds) to create more healthy environments, free of the side effects of chemical off-gassing which is essential for guest and staff health and comfort.

Providing natural ventilation is one of the most effective approaches to improve indoor air quality and can be achieved with energy efficient operable windows, expansive operable walls, and even operable skylights. Natural ventilation pays multiple benefits as it provides fresh air circulation and connects hotel guest to the immediate outdoors, surrounding them with scents, sounds, and breezes for a more immersive experience.

Water

Clean and safe water must be insured by proper filtration and regular testing. Given climate change and demands on natural resources, access to fresh water cannot be taken for granted; Travelers want their stay to be relaxing, fulfilling and ecologically responsible and so wellness-minded and sustainable hotels have acknowledged their responsibility to manage water use carefully.

To provide clean drinking water hotels may adopt commercial water purification systems such as Reverse Osmosis (RO) water treatment or UV light sterilization technology to provide their guests with the freshest and safest drinking water possible.

Hotels can also increase their water efficiency through indoor and outdoor water use reduction. Some years ago, hotels began prompting guests to reconsider daily linen and towel replacement and instituted more water efficient laundry processes to reduce water usage. Outdoors, hotels can moderate landscape water usage through thoughtful, regional, drought-resistant planting, xeriscape planting principals, and efficient irrigation systems. With a thoughtful sense of place, hotel properties can create inspiring landscape settings for the enjoyment of their guests and staff while adopting responsible approaches to water use.

Each property is its own micro-environment and can contribute to water resource management on their site by engaging in rain-water collection, filtration, and reuse, integrating green roofs to reduce storm water run-off, and implementing on-site gray water treatment and reuse (often for landscaping). These approaches position hotels as environmental stewards for the benefit of the hotel patrons and the surrounding community.

Nourishment

A complete wellness approach demands proper nourishment to foster healthier lifestyles. As health-minded travelers seek a greater selection of healthy food choices, hotels have responded with a wider variety of creative menu offerings and a renewed passion from the kitchen. Guests care about fresh, wholesome, locally grown, organic food, limited highly-processed ingredients, and more vegan and vegetarian menu selections.

Hotel properties can incorporate vegetable gardens into their landscape design or develop roof-top or vertical gardens to provide fresh herbs and produce, the display of which can contribute to guest awareness and appreciation.

Balanced diets, proper nutrition, and weight loss are all part of mindful eating, but guests also desire unique, authentic, and wonderful dining experiences that hotels can provide by sourcing local produce and preparing meals in traditional manners that celebrate the local food culture.

Light

A person's internal clock, or circadian rhythm, have a direct impact to health and a sense of wellness and overall well-being. The primary influence on circadian health is light and therefore the exposure to light and the control of illumination is essential to maximize alignment with our body's circadian system.  Most travelers have experienced some form of jetlag which results from disruptions to sleep cycles, dehydration, and improper ventilation,which is especially noticeable on multi-time zone flights.

Hotels and spas are aware of the importance of circadian health and its impact on their guests and are responding with an array of solutions to support the weary traveler. Technological advancements include LED lighting and control systems that can manipulate lighting intensity and color temperature to align with a guest's internal clock and guest room automation systems and sleep tracking devices that can dim lighting, adjust room temperatures, and monitor sleep patterns to promote restful sleep. Simple but effective measures also include window treatments and blind systems that block-out natural light which might interfere with sleep.

While the approaches mentioned above focus on excluding or limiting natural light, it is equally important to note that abundant natural daylight is just as critical for circadian rhythm alignment. In hotel design, access to natural daylight, and awareness of light's changing quality throughout the day connects the people to their natural surroundings. The location and size of windows, clerestories, and skylights can be used to modulate light, shape spaces through shade and shadow, and enrich the architectural setting and guest experience.

Generous natural daylight has the added sustainability benefit of minimizing electrical demands and usage. When combined with occupancy sensors, LED lighting reduces hotel energy consumption, costs, and carbon footprints.

Movement

Fitness Centers have long been part of hospitality wellness amenities but these facilities now need to evolve to address the broader concept of mindful movement. Movement encourages physical activity to play a more central role in our daily lives, to counteract sedentary habits, and to motivate guests of all ages and physical abilities in their path to good health.Hotel fitness centers are expanding beyond their traditional complement of weight and aerobic equipment and familiar activities such as yoga, aerobics, and pilates to be augmented with flexible studio spaces sized to accommodate a wider variety of movement activities such as dance, gymnastics, martial arts, and even climbing.

For the hotel industry this means changes to facility design to enable flexible space usage and reconfiguration, trainers and instructors with more diverse knowledge and experience, and expanding workshop and class program options to respond to guest's varied interests and make for a more memorable stay.

The pandemic has brought about a number of behavioral changes with respect to fitness and wellness services which may appear to run counter to one another. There is both a desire for seclusion and isolation for a sense of safety while at the same time there is an eagerness to (re)build a sense of community and public engagement. Technology plays a significant role in the first case where guest rooms have become a place to not only sleep and relax but to conduct work and work-out. High-speed internet connectivity allows for live streaming of virtual group training classes or private one-on-one personal training sessions and interactive fitness systems like Mirror and Peleton can provide guests with a vigorous work-out from the safety of their own room.

In the second case, as the pandemic wanes, guests are looking for quality experiences free from technology and 24/7 inter-connectivity. Social activities such as in-person meditation events, yoga classes, and running clubs give guests the opportunity to reconnect with the world. Hotels can provide free bikes for sightseeing outings which is a sustainable, low-impact activity for the health-minded and curious traveler looking to disconnect from technology and reengage with their surroundings.

Thermal and Sound Comfort

Reducing stress caused by deleterious-sensory stimuli is foundational to health and wellness in hotel environments. The impact of light on circadian rhythms has already been mentioned; Thermal and Sound (acoustic), comfort is also essential to promote restful sleep cycles and general physical enjoyment. Guest rooms can be equipped with temperature and humidity controls linked to sleep monitoring devices or mobile apps to facilitate optimal sleep. Operable windows, useful to introduce fresh air, also give guests the option to moderate room temperature by simply opening a window.

Acoustic comfort relies on an array of noise mitigation considerations such as overall building construction systems i.e., steel or concrete, program separation (noise generating activities separated from quiet/sleeping zones), acoustic treatments within spaces and between adjacent spaces, mechanically produced and air-borne noise reduction, and vibration isolation. Proper acoustic design is a building-wide concern for hotels where every space, be they public (lobbies, restaurants, lounges), private (guest rooms, meeting rooms), or support (kitchens, laundries) should be free of noise to bring peace and comfort to guests and create pleasing work environments for staff.

Glazing systems, and particularly operable windows, can be acoustically enhanced to reduce exterior noise with triple-glazing, laminations, and sound gasketing to significantly improve acoustic, as well as thermal, performance.Silent-operation HVAC systems and equipment should be specified, especially in guest rooms, to avoid sleep interruptions. For spaces with distracting background noise, such as restaurants or office suites, an active technological response is sound masking which can reduce noise and improve speech intelligibility to make for a more enjoyable dining or working experience.

Music has long been appreciated for its therapeutic powers and the impact it can have on one's mood and sense of well-being. Sound therapies and sonic strategies play an increasingly active role in wellness and are being integrated into hotel spa treatments.Guest can enjoy meditative 3D soundscapes, immersive binaural beats, and healing quantum sound therapy to uplift their spirit and reinvigorate their state of mind.

Materials

Building materials, interior finishes, furnishings, and cleaning products can contain chemicals that are harmful to human health. In hospitality settings, sustainability and wellness strategies aim to reduce exposure to such chemicals to create healthy environments for guests and staff alike.

As mentioned in the 'air' section above, the use of low emitting materials like low-VOC insulation, flooring, adhesives, and paints during new construction or renovations is critical to reduce indoor air pollution. Similarly, the use of low hazard and low-odor cleaning products for maintenance and cleaning is mutually beneficial to both custodial staff and hotel guests. On hotel grounds, fertilizer and pesticide application must be carefully monitored to prevent inhalation or contact by guests and their pets.

Sustainable design practices promote the use of local, natural, and recyclable materials which, in the hands of a creative architect, landscape or interior designer, can be combined and manipulated to create unique hotel environments sought after by the experienced traveler.

Memorable hospitality facilities are moving, beautiful, and inviting, but the materials from which they are built, furnished, and maintained must be properly selected to insure they contribute to the health and well-being of theirs guests and employees.

Mind

Mental wellness has never been more important than today as travelers look to relieve the stress and burnout brought on by the life-altering pandemic. Restorative hotel stays treat the mind as well as the body to nurture mental as well as physical health. Spa treatments are available that balance revitalizing the body with meditative calming practices to bring about mindfulness and spiritual well-being.

Just as innovations to fitness and movement requires changes to facility design,meditative practices require flexible space usage and reconfiguration to accommodate activities such as tea ceremonies, yoga classes, and meditation workshops in architectural surroundings conducive to peaceful contemplation. Technology enhancements in guest rooms are required for light and sound control or advanced sound systems for in-room meditation. Broader program offerings require knowledgeable wellness coaches and meditation guides to complement these various services.

Community

A wellness community is concerned with not only the health and well-being of each individual but that of the entire community. COVID-19 has taught us communal health has a direct impact on each one of us. The world-wide hotel industry, crippled by the pandemic, has gained a profound understanding that the health of this industry relies entirely on the health of its patrons and guests. Hotels can help build community thorough group movement activities, communal programs, and the design of safe and healthy social gathering spaces.

As the pandemic recedes and travel restrictions ease, hospitality venues which integrate a vibrant wellness and sustainability culture in their design, amenities, technological innovations, operations and programs, and food and beverage offerings, will attract today's travelers who are eager to relax, unwind, and rejoin the global community.

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This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California notwithstanding any conflict of laws provisions. You and HotelExecutive agree that the venue for all legal disputes, controversies, actions of any kind arising under or related to this Agreement shall be San Francisco, California. You and HotelExecutive further agree that in case of any litigation regarding this Agreement, you irrevocably and unconditionally (i) consent to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in the County of San Francisco, California for any litigation or dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement, (ii) agree not to commence any litigation arising out of or relating to this Agreement except in the California Courts, (iii) agree not to plead or claim that such litigation brought therein has been brought in an inconvenient forum, and (iv) agree the California Courts represent the exclusive jurisdiction for all litigation relating to this Agreement.

11. MEMBERSHIP FEES

Hotel Business Review Subscriptions

If you choose to purchase a subscription, member subscription payments can be made in U.S. Dollars, as well as a variety of international currencies. Membership terms are Annual Recurring, and Monthly Recurring. The Annual Recurring subscription is an annual commitment and subscribers will be charged each consecutive billing cycle. Annual Recurring subscriptions can be cancelled after the first billing cycle and within 30-days of the billing date for a full refund. Monthly Recurring subscriptions are ongoing and subscribers will be charged each consecutive monthly billing cycle. Monthly Recurring subscriptions can be cancelled after the first month and within 7 days of the monthly billing cycle for a full refund.

12. PAYMENT AUTHORIZATION

Payment for the services provided to you in, at, through or in association with HotelExecutive may be made by automatic credit card, debit card, direct debit, bankwire or Paypal and other approved payment means offered in, at, through or in association with HotelExecutive, and you hereby authorize HotelExecutive and its agents to transact such payments on your behalf.

You hereby authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to charge your credit card to pay for your membership to HotelExecutive. You further authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to charge your credit card for any and all purchases of products, services in association with HotelExecutive. You agree to be personally liable for all charges incurred by you in association with your access or other use of any content provided by HotelExecutive or any third party in association with HotelExecutive. You acknowledge and agree that your liability for all such charges shall continue after termination of your access or any type of membership arrangement with HotelExecutive.

In the event that you have chosen to have your membership automatically rebilled, unless and until you notify HotelExecutive that you wish to cancel or terminate your membership to HotelExecutive, you hereby agree and authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to automatically renew your membership to HotelExecutive on a continuing basis and to charge your credit card (or other payment means you have selected) to pay for the ongoing cost of your membership. You hereby further authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to charge your credit card (or other approved payment means you have selected) for any and all purchases of products, services and entertainment provided to in, at, through or in association with HotelExecutive.

13. PRIVACY POLICY

The following is the Privacy Policy for HotelExecutive

We can be reached via telephone, email, or online at our contact page. When you visit our site we do not log any information regarding your domain or email address. Information Sharing: We do not share user information with any third parties other than via press release distribution as described below.

Hotel Newswire is a newswire service that distributes press releases on behalf of our users. If you decide to submit a press release for distribution through our system we will transmit your entire press release including any personal information therein contained to our media contacts and online distribution points including search engines. This is the only redistribution of your information that we engage in. Your submission of press releases through our system indicates consent with this policy. The information we collect during your registration process is used to notify users about updates to our service and inform users of any special events hosted by Hotel Newswire. This information is not shared with other organizations for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

Cookies: Our system requires the use of cookies to enable the user to log back into our website to access information from the newswire, without having to log in each time using the required username and password.

If you do not want to receive email from us in the future, please let us know by following instructions included in our communication with you. Users who supply us with telephone numbers online may receive telephone contact from us regarding their account, or informing them of new products and services available on the HotelExecutive website. If you do not wish to receive such telephone calls, please edit your account and remove your phone number from your account profile. This can be done from your user account menu.

Ad Servers: We do not partner with or have any relationship with any ad server companies. From time to time, we may use customer information for new uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at any time, we will post the policy changes to our website to notify you of these changes and provide you with the ability to opt out of these new uses. If you are concerned about how your information is used, you should check back at our website periodically.

Upon request we provide site visitors with access to all information (including proprietary information) that we maintain about them. Users can access this information by logging in to their account.

Security: We always use industry-standard encryption technologies while transferring and receiving user data exchanged with our site. We have appropriate security measures in place in our physical facilities to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information that we have collected from you on our site. We do not store credit card information in our systems.

If you feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, you may contact us.

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