HI Connect - Family Suite: Design Concept, Trends, About Event

We are so excited for HI Connect Design 2012!!

March 21 - 23, 2012

We were selected to design the Family Suite at HI Connect Design at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Stay tuned for pictures and details from the show coming up soon!

If unfamiliar with HI Connect and Hotel Interactive, read more about the event at the end of this post.

Prior to design, Judi did quite a bit of research on upcoming trends in Hospitality Design. Here is what we are anticipating for the year ahead:

Hospitality Trends of 2012 by Judi Kieffer, ASID- Kieffer Design Group

• Personalized Service: Hotels are expanding custom service options so guests receive personalized attention with issues such as dietary requirements, culturally appropriate in-room amenities and personal advice for offbeat dining or other leisure-time activities.
• More DIY Opportunities: To help guests create lasting memories, hotels could offer do-it-yourself experiences, such as cooking classes, gardening opportunities and massage instruction.
• Volunteerism: More guests and families are looking for some way to get involved in volunteering in the local community and learning something while doing it- Hotels can offer more creative ways to involve guests and offer fun activities.
• Smartphone apps: Hotels are taking advantage of the proliferation of smartphones by offering downloadable custom apps to order room service, drinks, movies or a local map.
• The modern travelers have adopted a common trait – they want what they want, when they want it. Hoteliers can find more appropriate ways to be marketable in addressing these requests, making the guest feel ultra special and it shouldn’t be found only in the 5 star hotels.
• Amenities that provided added benefits to the guest experience in the past few years are now mandatory. (consider what the current travelers are using in their daily lives- snacks, beverages, items that are used daily and forgotten that can be provided in the guest room without having to call and wait for housekeeping to deliver- it’s a potential money making proposition.)
• The hustle and bustle of the modern life has seen travelers looking for hotel experiences that play on the idea of “Escapism. “ Create a fun experience in the hotel for all ages and types of guests. It might mean spa enhancements, or Family Friendly Suite environment, outdoor activities set up with community businesses, etc.
• Hospitality experts are predicting that green practices and sustainable elements represent the future of hospitality design.
• Today’s trend in hospitality reveals that a more relaxed use of space is the current big thing. Openness is really the trend. People want to see what is happening around them, at the same time choose when to be part of the action.
• More Home-Like designed environments tops the list of trends. Entertainment has also taken a step forward by offering technology and comforts one would find at home.
• Colors: the magic is in the combination and not just the individual colors.
• Molten Orange and taupy gray are our hot picks- with its influence from the earths Red-rock core is becoming a hot new color- its more earthy than the earlier bright orange.
• Many new combinations of color groups that reflect more of earths’ natural elements like the blues of oceans and rivers, and the greens of moss, seaweed, all reflecting the increased interest and embrace of sustainability.
• Taupes, greys and browns balance off well with these new combinations.

• General Guestroom trends:
• Platform beds – (no bedskirts - they never look very well and can be high maintenance.)
• Multi-use furniture and better use of space
• Home like furnishings that are still durable
• In-room Amenities – items that are really needed and desired
• In room controls of the environment like window coverings, vacancy controls no do not disturb signs, etc
• More lighting options so everyone can see! For every task and age of traveler.
• Wood flooring with area rugs or carpet tiles for ease of maintenance, comfort, flexibility.

A big thank you to Laura Foreman, Scott Guthormsen, Lori Brock, Sarah Brock, Jessica Roy, Stacey Roy, Johnna Johnson, and Sheli Gartman for their insights on what they would like to see in a family suite. We have incorporated many of these ideas into our suite and appreciate their thoughts on often forgotten special considerations and amenities.

After doing our research on the trends and gathering input from experienced travelers, we came up with a Family Suite Vignette Design Plan:

Traveling can pose challenges for both hoteliers and guests. Often times a Family Suite has been limited in amenities and special considerations. Sensible alternatives are required to enhance the travelers’ experience and expectations in the immediate and future market. From our extensive survey of various hotels owners, parents, teens and business travelers, we have incorporated smart design solutions that bring answers to create The Ultimate Family/Hospitality Suite, increasing a property’s ROI and increased guest approval ratings!

Our Vignette showcases 2 private sleeping quarters adjacent to an open living/ kitchenette area for family and entertaining, utilizing safe, quality, soft close pocket door and cabinet systems. Toys are not spread everywhere, parents don’t need to mute the TV while kids sleep, teens hang out in their ‘personalized’ space. The 400 sf. room offers high-tech amenities, multi-task lighting, materials that are low maintenance, durable, cleanable and ‘green-conscious--it’s efficient, multi-functional, and fun!

The living-space offers a sofa/chaise/sleeper, movable compact end tables, 4 storage ottomans are also chairs, and a kitchen table used for meals, games and laundry. The efficient, fully stocked kitchen offers all amenities for cooking, fridge/freezer for ‘Jacks ice-cream fettish, MW, storable cooktop, a family-friendly ‘Vending Drawer’ with healthy snacks, ear buds (because kids always loose them), hand wipes, diapers (because parents always run out), AND in-room laundry facilities. All things families need and hoteliers can fulfill while increasing profits.

The Queen bedroom offers a 3-in-one desk/bench/rolling-table, locking storage drawers for timeshares, or blankets/pillow programs. Two nightstands offer drawers with overhead illuminated closets that would otherwise be wasted space. The Bunkroom has open cubbies for kid stuff, clothes, bag storage, two individual closets (with writable surface), collapsible playpen, changing pad, and toy bin, and separate TV.

All encouraging guests to linger longer and wanting to return sooner!

As well, be sure to check out Judi’s interview with HI Connect’s editor in chief, Glenn Haussman, where she discusses further inspiration behind the design.

About HI Connect and Hotel Interactive:

Forget what you know about hospitality trade shows... this is the hospitality experience reimagined, a unique opportunity to interact with environments and products while connecting with the contacts you need!

Enter into an extraordinary world of different vignettes... full scale hotel settings displaying a designer’s vision and the latest products and services interacting with each other, to be experienced firsthand. It’s immersive, imaginative, innovative... and not to be missed.
HI Connect Design has no aisles or booths, just 150,000 square feet of event floor transformed into in a clever ‘neighborhood’ layout of over 50 live constructed hotel spaces. Explore the entire show floor to meet world-renowned designers and learn about the products they’ve incorporated into each vignette.

HI Connect Design is brought to you by Hotel Interactive, the hotel industry’s most insightful provider of original and edgy editorial content. More than just the news; the Hotel Interactive Network is a catalyst, helping lodging pros leverage knowledge to their advantage. Educational and entertaining, Hotel Interactive offers an analytical look at everything hoteliers need to know. With an unequaled audience, the Network has and impressive reach and readership in the hotel community. The Hotel Interactive Network plugs you into more than 90,000 Daily eNews newsletter subscribers.

Hotel Interactive produces SIX world reknowned BITAC™ events each year; BITAC™ Luxury, BITAC™ Purchasing & Design East, BITAC™ Purchasing & Design West, BITAC™ Owners, BITAC™ F&B, and BITAC™ Tech & Operations. BITAC events provide an unparalleled business building forum for prominent executives in the hospitality industry, fostering long-term relationships. These highly acclaimed events have earned a reputation for bringing together the top echelon of purchasing decision makers for an intimate and productive experience.

via hiconnectdesign.com