Faculty & Research
Hospitality Design Roundtables
April 5-6, 2009: Fourth Hospitality Design Roundtable
Although hotel operators are pushing in the direction of greater sustainability, the hotel industry continues to seek the best way to build and operate “green” hotels. Participants in the Hospitality Design Roundtable, a hotel industry research panel presented by Cornell's Center for Hospitality Research, noted that the interests of owners, operators, and guests sometimes collide, when it comes to determining exactly what constitues green hotel operations. The roundtable, held in April 2009, was chaired by Richard Penner, professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.
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Simon Ford, Senior VP, Innovation & Design, InterContinental Hotels Group; Paul McGowan, Principal, Hospitality 3; and Richard Penner, Professor, Cornell School of Hotel Administration |
"Our discussion was disjointed at times," said Penner, “probably because of the many unrelated elements that must be considered for environmentally responsible hotel design and operations.” Penner added that those elements include developers’ reticence to spend more for green design, guests’ apparent demand for green operation—even when they are not willing to pay extra for that—and the provisions of LEED certification—a green building rating system—which don’t readily apply to hotels. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
Sustainable construction is not the same as sustainable operation. As Simon Ford, senior vice president of innovation and design at InterContinental Hotels put it: “A green hotel does not equate to a green hotel experience.” Companies that seek to operate in a sustainable fashion need to analyze each product and process. Not all choices are clear-cut, the roundtable participants observed. For instance, which is more sustainable: paper towels or electric hand dryers?
The Hospitality Design Roundtable participants noted the sometimes contradictory messages sent by consumers. Guests are interested in sustainable design elements. Indeed, everyone is “in favor” of green building, but there is little indication that hotel guests are generally willing to pay a premium to stay in a sustainable hotel. “Consumers are really clear: they want everything, they want green to benefit them, and that is how they will assess value,” said David Jerome, senior vice president of corporate responsibility, InterContinental Hotels Group.
As sustainability becomes a strong guest consideration, a hotel’s brand may drive occupancy more than its location. As Margaret McMahon, managing director of Wilson Associates observed: "Cradle to Cradle (architect William McDonough’s sustainability primer, www.c2ccertified.com) really scares you. … We are doing everything wrong.” To establish their green position, brands will need to establish clear standards for design and operation based on a foundation of sustainability.
The hotel industry panelists suggest that LEED certification remains a challenge for hotels, primarily because the standards were initiated for office buildings and other commercial structures that do not operate like hotels. “LEED is about buildings, not about hospitality,” Penner suggested. Participants observed that the LEED standards apply more to urban buildings than to remote resort locations, but developers still seek LEED certification even when that is not appropriate for the location. “LEED is the 'loudest dog in the yard,'… the only metric we have for construction,” said Ted Brumleve, director of development management services with Warnick + Company.
The roundtable concluded that hotels will need wide-ranging strategies to conserve natural resources and reduce waste, as well as policies for sustainable design, construction, and procurement. This may require expansion of the back of the house and changes in public spaces, for example, recycling bins off the lobby. Even with sustainability policies in place, there may be a limit to how green a hotel can be, given the nature of hotel operations. “One could build the world’s greenest building; but if guests do not see how it benefits them, we will have missed a real opportunity to connect with our guests,” Jerome observed. The roundtable members agreed that with or without LEED standards, the industry will continue to seek ways to be sustainable in both design and operations.
October 4-5, 2007: Third Hospitality Design Roundtable
Design Roundtable Program
Changes in the hotel market will require new design ideas from the inside out and from outside in, according to participants in the 2007 Cornell Hospitality Design Roundtable, held in October at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. Hotel designers will see inside-out changes as a result of demand from new generations of business travelers, while the outside-in changes are driven by efforts to improve hotel buildings’ energy efficiency and environmental standing. Along the way, an ever-shifting approach to branding hotels will make for additional design challenges.
Chaired by Richard Penner, a professor at the hotel school, the 2007 Hospitality Design Roundtable is part of a series of Roundtables presented by Cornell's Center for Hospitality Research.
While still attending to the needs of fifty-something business travelers, hotels have turned to address changes in the market caused by increasing numbers of twenty-, thirty-, and forty-year-old travelers. The result, according to participants in the Roundtable on “Designing for Demographic Change” is that designers must appeal to a broad range of ages. Panel participant Saverio Scheri, managing director for WhiteSand Consulting, pointed out the challenge: “We have to evolve the experience to match the expectations of each age group—and those expectations are high.”
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Left to right: Debbie Mace, Director of Interior Architecture, |
Although young travelers are not especially brand loyal, that is not the greatest challenge they pose. The problem for designers is that if they are unhappy with their stay, they’ll just move on to the next brand—without saying why.
Designing hotels for environmentally sound operation creates a different set of challenges, as examined by the Roundtable session on Green Hotels. Most environmental standards begin with the building envelope (for example, LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). This means that the decision to seek environmental certification must be made early in the project. Complicating this decision is the absence of LEED standards for hotels and the question about whether guests would pay a premium for LEED certified rooms.
In the midst of these demographic and environmental changes, hotels are also attempting to redefine the role and value of brands. Some brands are attempting to create design concepts that cannot be readily copied, while others are taking well-known names and extending them to new developments.
More than 30 new brands had been announced in the months prior to the Roundtable, inviting confusion, according to Roundtable participant Raj Chandnani. Chandnani, director of strategic planning and consulting, WATG, observed: "We're all in the industry and we're confused-imagine what the customer thinks!" Part of the confusion may arise from the convergence of design among several major brands, according to Debbie Mace, director of interior architecture, 4240 Architecture, in Denver. "There are probably only a handful of brands that can be readily distinguished by look," she said.
October 6-7, 2005: Second Annual Hospitality Design Roundtable
Thirty industry and academic leaders gathered at the Cornell Hotel School in October of 2005 to discuss current trends in hospitality design. Under the lead of Cornell Professor Richard Penner, attendees covered a range of subjects including the need to balance technology and personal service; reconciling design innovations with brand consistency; current reserve levels for replacement; and the continued outsourcing in food and beverage facilities.
Participants agreed that one of the toughest challenges facing hoteliers is in how to balance advances in technology with personal service. While hoteliers agree that personal recognition remains a hallmark of hospitality, some opined that technology is about to trump personal interaction, especially at check-in and check-out.
"The front desk is a dead duck," said Richard Senechal, senior vice president of facilities for Loews Hotels.
Another discussion centered on the challenge of reconciling design innovations with brand consistency. While building beyond brand standards may "lift the brand" and encourage all brand properties to follow suit, the group agreed this strategy could result in an uneven guest experience across brand properties. The panel concurred that designers who intend to design outside the brand need to show how their innovations will drive hotel performance.
The group also addressed the inadequacy of current reserves for replacement. Attendees agreed that the high occupancies and stagnant ADRs of the last two years have resulted in greater wear and tear on properties but that insufficient reserves were being put aside. The industry standard of 3-4 percent of revenues is unlikely to be sufficient as properties age and designs become more sophisticated. Some panelists suggested that 6-7 percent of revenues is a more realistic level for reserves.
The group also discussed the continuing movement away from hotel-operated food and beverage outlets. More developers who allocate space for a restaurant are turning over concept and design to a restaurateur and restaurant-design specialist. Some of these designers have followings of their own, much as chefs do, which can add to a hotel's cachet as well as its bottom line through participation in restaurant revenues.
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Left to Right: Roger G. Hill, II, chief executive officer and co-founder, Gettys |
Looking ahead, participants identified the following trends in lodging design and construction:
- Co-branding will continue, whether with personalities and brands from the fashion industry or retail brands that have synergies with the hotel.
- Rooms may get narrower again, because of advances in technology such as the flat screen TVs. Conversely, guests want the beds to be bigger, and bathrooms to be spacious.
- The shift away from the bathtub continues, making much more flexible bathroom layouts possible.
- Energy costs are increasing rapidly, making technologies such as a single point of energy control in the room more attractive for North American projects.
- Pressure is coming for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for new construction. The market base is concerned about environmental issues, and owners and operators will need to respond.
- Designing in 3D is getting more and more practical given the latest software, but this approach increases concerns about accuracy in construction drawings.
- Rebuilding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina will probably push labor, drywall, and lumber costs up 10 to 15 percent across the board.
Roundtable participants included leaders from Cendant Hotel Group; Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo; Lloyd Fruchtman, Architect; PMG Architects; CNL Hospitality Corporation; Gettys Group; Ai Group Architects; Looney & Associates; Culpepper, McAuliffe and Meaders, Inc; John Nicolls Group; Exclusive Resorts LLC; Host Marriott; Forrest Perkins LLC; JHM Hotels; Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts; and Loews Hotels.
May 20-21, 2004: First Annual Design Roundtable
In May of 2004, the Center for Hospitality Research hosted its first roundtable on design trends in the hospitality industry. Invited participants were design leaders and visionaries from top hotels and resort management companies, interior design companies, and architecture firms in the industry.
The following organizations shared in the discussions:
- Ai Group Architects
- Bartech North America
- Cendant Hotel Group
- CNL Hospitality Corp.
- Elias Design Group
- ForrestPerkins LLC
- Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts
- Gettys Group
- Hirsch Bedner Associates
- Hornberger + Worstell
- Hospitality Design Magazine
- Host Marriott
- Hyatt Hotels Corp.
- PMG Architects
- Portman, Fruchtman, Vinson, Sunderland
- Wilson & Associates
- Wyndham International
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Participants in the The Center for Hospitality Research Design Roundtable include, from left: A. Sidney Hartman, V.P., CNL Hospitality Corp.; Michael Bedner, CEO, Hirsch Bedner Associates; Margaret McMahon, Director, Wilson & Associates; Stephen Perkins, Principal, Forrest Perkins LLC; and Brad Elias, President, Elias Group. |
Representatives held a variety of leadership positions within their respective companies, including: CEO; director of public relations and communications; editor in chief; partner; president; principal; senior director; senior vice president of architecture and design; vice president of architecture and technical services; and vice president of design and construction.
"We were delighted with the discussions that focused on design innovation in the future," said Cornell Hotel School Professor Richard Penner, who chaired the event. "The roundtable attracted some of the leading creators and innovators in hospitality design, resulting in a provocative exchange of ideas between Cornell Hotel School faculty members and industry leaders".
Topics discussed included how successful chains incorporate design and service features to create brand identity, which hotels during the past fifty years have been the most influential design leaders, and what design elements most impact the customer experience and make a hotel or property stay memorable. One highlight of the discussions was how hotels and resorts might reengineer the development and design process to reduce time and expense as well as ease tensions among the team members.
"The creative talent dedicated to exemplary hotel design in the last 20 years is truly amazing. Future hoteliers need this design exposure," said A. Sidney Hartman, V.P., architecture and technical services, CNL Hospitality Corp. "Even though I have pledged my own career to this unique work, I was humbled to be among the august group convened at the First Annual Hospitality Design Roundtable at Cornell."