In our last article, we discussed how the pandemic shaped the restaurant industry and how people dine now. Here, we discuss how the pandemic has changed hospitality, hotel and resort design, and how people like to spend leisure time.
This time we talked to seasoned Architect Jojo Catipon of Goudie Associates to tell us about the landscape of the hospitality industry change over the last few years. With more than 25 years of experience in architecture and management, Jojo has a lot of colorful insights into the industry.
Bring outdoors inside
We can’t emphasize good ventilation well enough.
In terms of design for hotels and restaurants, this means bringing the outdoors inside. No design best encapsulates this than biophilic designs. Being able to bring nature inside our buildings doesn’t just improve ventilation but it is also better for the well-being inside the building. Right now, wellness requirements are a must not just for hotels and resorts but for all kinds of buildings.
Much has already been said about good airflow and ventilation. This idea is not new but for most establishments, it could be a challenge in terms of design. Architect Jojo emphasizes the need to rethink space requirements and be able to repurpose space for different uses. Challenges like the pandemic may come and go but buildings stay. Having space that is flexible for different uses is key right now.
All-inclusive experiences
With the pandemic, some trends in the hospitality industry emerged. With little tourism going around, hotels needed to adjust and offer more to locals. Architect Jojo has seen a trend of offering hotel spaces as co-working. Now that a lot of people are working from home, some people also opt to go to hotels to work just to have a change of scenery. On the other hand, some hotels have opted to go for an all-inclusive wellness retreat space. Going back to wellness, people now crave activities that will be good for their health, a time and space to rejuvenate, and just a time to step back. To answer this demand, hotels have started offering packages that include everything from spin classes, massages, yoga, and spas. On the other hand, some hotels have chosen to offer packages with a mix of both.
At the end of the day, the hotel concept is still the key. Trends come and go but knowing who you are as a hotel is important not just in terms of design but also for business. It gives insight into where you will build and how you will operate the business.
Beyond hospitality
The pandemic has shown something innate in our humanity: we design to survive. And we did survive. Two years into the pandemic, we have changed the way we do many things, especially hospitality and tourism. The pandemic has shown us the cracks we need to fill in in terms of designing spaces for human beings for the better. More than surviving, we also design to thrive. We need good spaces to experience the fullness of life and to flourish as human beings.
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