What’s in a Trend? | HI Design MEA

Harry

Trends: the nemeses of designers or, just as often, something to be ignored. To paraphrase Martin Brudnizki during a recent conversation, ‘the problem with trends is that they’re fast, but design is slow; hotels take a long time.’ He counts New York’s The Beekman, Miami’s Soho Beach House and Cambridge’s University Arms among his projects.

Having been asked if I could wax lyrical on hotel design trends for an upcoming feature, it’s a subject I’ve been ruminating on. In principle the title likes specifics: what is the new Millennial pink? Has terrazzo had its day? Are patterned shower curtains the latest ironic must? You get the idea. Except, of course, that’s not how hotel design works and most, if not all, designers would undoubtedly scoff at the idea of seasonal trends as interiors dictate. But then I spoke to Studio Indigo founder, Mike Fisher, who had a rather revolutionary take, for me at least: “trends are just solutions to problems.”

The notion of design trends as a reactionary force is an interesting one, particularly in these cataclysmic times when COVID – and the associated downturn in both local and international travel – is a problem that seems sometimes insurmountable. How does a designer design today, when tomorrow is so uncertain? Perhaps deciphering the trends in hotel design means looking at the industry’s challenges.
“We’re pivoting our model completely,” one owner-operator tells me. His design-led group comprises predominantly urban boutique hotels. “These are hotels designed for a steady and consistent stream of leisure tourists – many of whom will stay for just a few days. That stream has dried up and is unlikely to return in the same form for some time to come, if ever.”

The solution? “We’re developing a hybrid model, a mix of traditional hotel offer and residential, but with an emphasis on long-stay. For properties still in the pipeline, we’re revising floor plans to offer more space and going back to brief with our designers.” Essentially, he’s now asking them to create a home from home, not a place to sleep. Indeed, anecdotally, many operators now believe that self-sufficiency, longer stays and a greater focus on in-house experience will become the hallmarks of future travel.

On a recent work trip, during a short window between UK national lockdowns, I stayed at the newly-opened Bermonds Locke, part of the rapidly growing family of Locke aparthotels. While it wasn’t the first time I’d ‘gone Locke’, I was still struck by how far the humble hotel kitchenette has come (once something so unglamorous) and how vital the round dining table felt – not just a space for actual dining during these order-in times, but as an informal working spot and a place to perch with a strong coffee on early starts, admiring views across to The Shard. Locke asks the question, ‘what if your place to stay felt more like your space to live?’, and what’s remarkable is just how hard the brand’s interior design works in service to that ethos. The problem: changing travel habits and a younger, Airbnb-raised generation that has fallen out of love with traditional hotels. The solution: materials that would feel at home in a cool urban flat; a colour palette that seeks to soothe the perennially plugged in; and design flourishes that speak to the surroundings without feeling like a guide book writ large.

We don’t quite know what the future holds, but I do know that the next time I’m asked to predict current or upcoming trends in hotel design I’ll simply ask myself: what are the problems we’re facing, how can design be the solution and will it involve patterned shower curtains?