5 minute read
Hospitality, health and happiness
Hospitality in Commercial Construction
What contentment means in today’s built environment
By Katie Sprague & Clay Markham
Hospitality, including hotels, resorts and restaurants that were once frequented by many, has been one of the hardest hit industries by the ongoing pandemic. While wellness has been topof-mind recently for designers, we will continue to see this industry explore even more ways to define what it means to offer wellness and put travelers’ wellbeing first. This is especially true amid the pandemic, where the topic of wellness will gain more traction as more and more travelers become increasingly conscious of their own health and wellbeing while also feeling comfortable heading to their favorite hotel again. With a rapidly changing economic environment surrounding the hotel industry, the ability to make spaces that put wellness first is paramount. The businesses that survive this pandemic will leverage our evolving world to serve fundamental, unchanging human needs: connection, empathy, freedom, wellbeing and, maybe more importantly, happiness.
Hospitality in Commercial Construction Hospitality, health and happiness
The industry is in a pursuit to understand the role of happiness in the built environment and its impact on our wellbeing. Social connectedness is the bedrock of happiness. Companies like CallisonRTKL, along with partners Delivering Happiness and DMG Mountain View, are taking this matter to heart. Happiness By Design is a methodology created to measure and apply happiness in the built environment. The project began with a series of questions: > How can we make an impact on the world by driving happiness in the built environment? > How might we play a role in the movement for human happiness by evolving the traditional design process? > How might we connect people, places, and culture through the common lens of happiness? Based on the science of happiness and design, the team created The Happiness Ecosystem Index (HEI). This system provides a roadmap to make better connections between buildings and the people who inhabit them. The HEI includes five principles of happiness: 1. Meaning: Alignment to a higher purpose 2. Vitality: Health and wellbeing as the foundation of life 3. Freedom: Autonomy, authenticity, and empowerment
4. Engagement: Meaningful connections and a deep sense of belonging 5. Delight: Active awareness of joy and amazement
The hospitality industry has been quick to adapt to the pandemic, knowing that its ability to provide a clean and safe environment will be the key to guest confidence once they return to the property. But the challenge presented lies in the long-term approach. How can hotel
Hospitality in Commercial Construction Hospitality, health and happiness
developers, owners, and operators regain the magic of a great hotel experience that has always depended on beautiful spaces, delightful details, and thoughtful service to bring it all together? The Happiness principle of Delight will be key to evolving hospitality design with a strong focus on high satisfaction and priority placed on guests’ wellbeing. Hotels are likely to be at the forefront of the “touchless experience” with guests using their smartphones and other devices to make their stay enjoyable while being seamless—from the check-in process to opening doors and ordering room service. The need for human connection is a constant, but now conducted at a respectful distance. Additionally, unlike how the healthcare industry can wear the badge of “sanitized for your health” with pride, hotel design will embrace the idea of “ambient wellness,” where spaces are visibly clean, and promote health and wellbeing, but will not have an overriding sense of virus-protection. For example, expected layouts will start to shift, and even hotels located in colder climates will place great emphasis on outdoor offerings and experiences. Furthermore, where there was once a large focus on more open, social spaces, the demand will now be for creating more exclusive, private areas that only accommodate a few guests at a time—showcasing the importance of guests’ wellbeing while offering an intimate experience worth traveling for.
Hospitality in Commercial Construction Hospitality, health and happiness
In addition to layout changes that support touchless encounters and ambient wellness, guests will also notice changes to the material and color palettes used throughout hotel properties. Guests are more conscious than ever of where they lay their heads, put their luggage, and sit down to remotely work. With this in mind, properties will not only incorporate easily cleanable and antimicrobial surfaces, but will provide materials that feel good to the touch as well. Soft, natural elements that provide a sense of calm, combined with biophilic characteristics that prioritizes wellbeing will amplify the feeling of happiness alongside current safety guidelines. In that same vein, lighting and sound are tantamount to wellness. Hotels must focus on implementing an abundance of natural and circadian lighting throughout guestrooms, corridors, and public spaces—wherever possible for maximum guest comfort. Additionally, natural, uplifting sounds that bring a sense of the outdoors inside will provide a positive, relaxing and happy experience for guests as they check in, head to an onsite food and beverage space, or go to their guestroom. Utilizing all of the senses through thoughtful materials, tones, illumination, and sounds will assure guests have a memorable experience that caters to their health, safety, and overall happiness and well-being. Ultimately, owners and operators of hospitality spaces will need to be equally as focused on the wellbeing and happiness of their guests as they are on their property’s programming. Creating experiential spaces with a focus on wellness at their core will leave guests with memories that make the risk of traveling worth the reward.
Katie Sprague leads branding for CallisonRTKL’s commercial sector. Her international, award-winning branding projects span all the project types in CallisonRTKL’s portfolio, from retail and hospitality to residential and healthcare. Clay Markham leads the hospitality sector with a dynamic design and management approach to architecture, interior design and construction management. Through more than 40 years in the industry, his compelling designs and successful project delivery skills have resulted in award-winning projects for top-tier brands including Marriott, Hyatt, IHG and Caesars Entertainment.
