Did you watch last week\u2019s episode of BBC\u2019s The Apprentice \u2013 the candidates made over two hotel rooms in 5* star Stoke Park, before pitching the design to the hotel manager and an industry expert. Our associate Director Jackie Mingo, who heads up our hotel division, provided her thoughts on the episode and explains why creating a hotel room is not as easy as it first seems\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEpisode two of The Apprentice beautifully highlighted that creating a hotel room is not that straightforward. The candidates\u2019 rooms lacked a clear vision or strategy, design quality and appeared random, emphasising the challenges of balancing good design and meeting the needs of both the client and customer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHotel rooms should not just be stylish and sophisticated but must function well. Considering the customer’s journey is critical to meet their growing demands and to create a home away from home, from the lighting scheme, technology, to the location of the plugs and kettle. Another important aspect is bringing the outside in and subtly incorporating aspects of the local area or history into the designs to act as reminders to the customer about where they are. We recently worked with a hotel in Weybridge, which was located near a nature reserve. When we created the concept, we incorporated different aspects from the reserve in each room \u2013 offering a quirky twist. For example, one room centred around birds, while another focused-on insects \u2013 these themes carried through to every detail, including the doorknobs.\u201d Every room told a story!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDesigning hotel concepts is all about the details and going above and beyond customer expectations. Rather than just looking pretty, rooms need to work and offer something different to attract customers as well as encourage them to rebook.\u201d In today\u2019s very competitive hotel market, where new boutique brands offer customers a wide and diverse range of designs, in recent research, it\u2019s the functional elements, such as being able to charge their phone next to their bed, that remain essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n