The magazine GERENCIA DE HOTELES Y RESTAURANTES had the opportunity to attend the HD Boutique, the convention that brings together the most select and modern design segment for the hotel industry. Miami was the epicenter of the event between August 17 and 18 and there we had the opportunity to speak with Cheryl Rowley, an interior designer with more than 36 years of experience in the sector. With this expert we talked about the importance of this topic within the personality of a hotel and about the trends in the matter.The design of the interior of a hotel takes on special importance because it projects its personality, and becomes the seal that guarantees the guest that he is receiving everything he paid for. When talking about this aspect, everything related to ceilings, walls, arrangement of spaces and the selection of furniture is touched. In this way Rowley referred to what has to do with the interior design of a hotel complex: "we work even in terms of lighting and the selection of the artistic appearance of the hotel. We relate to elements such as the choice of floral elements, the development of the landscape in general, also with uniforms and crockery."
Design, like art itself, is influenced by various currents and cultural modifications. Currently, a trend that is gaining more and more space is the use of green products to generate environments in which hotels demonstrate their environmental commitment. "Undoubtedly, in today's markets, a great trend that can be observed is to use green products to create environments and hotels friendly to the environment, and although it is even more expensive to carry out this type of initiative we find more and more developers willing to assume these costs and build an environmentally friendly hotel", Cheryl explained.
Although in appearance the green designs are expensive, in the medium and long term they stand out as very beneficial for the economy of the hotel, in addition to mitigating the negative impacts with the environment. "Initially this practice can be seen as more expensive, but the truth is that maintaining the hotel over the years becomes cheaper and more viable. These days you see more hotels being run and operating as green hotels and this relates to the way they use lighting and HVAC systems, in addition to the recycling programs they implement," she said.
As for the design itself, there is a trend that has gradually entered the scene and is the reconceptualization of social spaces such as lobby, living areas and common areas, resorting to simple pieces of furniture that encourage the interaction of people. "In essence there is a trend towards more space planning, where companies use the surface area more effectively instead of leaving a large portion of square footage for a large lobby that does not generate benefits for the hotel," Rowley noted.
To conclude, our guest clarified that in terms of interior design for hotels there is no style that is imposed on others, but rather a combination of them. However, he stressed that "there has also been a tendency to be cleaner, more modern and simpler. Many hotels are taking on this idea. Now we are also going back to the past, many hotels are entering this cycle, but the important thing is that practically anything can be done," Rowley said.
