Profit by Design

In a world where the bottomline is always an influencing factor, can design be a tool that influences profits? Hotelier India gets three leading Indian architects to scope out the truth behind the role of design in the hospitality scenario.

Can you indeed, ‘profit’ from your hotel’s design?

PREM NATH: Yes, hotel designs can be one of the factors of profit element. A good design can lead to efficiency in space planning, utilities and service management, which cuts down maintenance cost. Bad design will lead to inefficiency, frequent break-downs and recurring cost of replacement, all heading to dissatisfaction.

ABHAY KULKARNI: Hotel design in totality has various aspects and all of them are equally important, iconic design can be used as a marketing tool as well as to impress guests.

It is primarily visual information that the guest absorbs. The second factor is comfort of the guest, whether it is the lighting, the furniture or the amenities, which make the guest feel comfortable. The third factor is service, which is important for the guest experience that is directly dependent on the quality of service.

RAJIV KHANNA: Profit is two-fold: first comes customer satisfaction and second is energy efficiency. Hotel design is a synergy between the following elements – spatial, which includes front zone, the back office, public and private areas, service and aesthetics. One can indeed profit by synergising these elements in the right format.

What are the challenges you face?

PREM NATH: I will be voicing the opinion of not just myself but all architects and owners of projects, that the biggest challenges are pertaining to rules, regulations of various sanctioning departments, NOCs, clearances etc. Restrictions and limits put by excise department, health department and many more can become real impediments.

These days, new challenges lie in maintaining a top notch security in the hotel to make the guest comfortable. The rising global terrorism issues are a big threat.

ABHAY KULKARNI: The main challenge would be to get a good consultant who has the right amount of exposure to the culture of the location, is very creative and knows how to handle the operational part of things to make a good product.

Also, in urban areas, especially tier one and two cities, there are constraints on land size. Getting land is a challenging process.

RAJIV KHANNA: Challenges lie in optimisation of the previously mentioned elements vis a vis the local by-laws and financial inputs.

What elements of a hotel’s design are most important? How can you make them more efficient?

PREM NATH: Public areas of the hotel are most important like lobbies, restaurants, recreational areas, etc and the back of house services like engineering services and such, need to have inbuilt invisible efficiency.

Internal backup, new technology in terms of energy and resource efficiency should form part of the planning criteria. Energy is the largest expenditure in the hotel and efficient utilisation can result in exceptional cost savings.

ABHAY KULKARNI: The most important factor is the guest’s experience. The guest’s comfort is the primary objective. It starts from the guest’s arrival and goes on to the service, the room ambience, etc.

Hotel design should revolve around the guest. To make things more efficient, you have to look at things from a guest’s point of view and keep in mind their needs whether the property is in the luxury, upscale or budget segment.

RAJIV KHANNA: The energy zone, which is the back of house and the comfort zone, which is the rooms and F&B, are the important elements of a hotel’s design. By better anthropometrics and incorporating the energy planning, the earlier mentioned elements can be made more efficient.

How do you work out how much budget to allocate for your hotel’s interior design?

PREM NATH: Hotel interiors play a very important role in visibility and comfort impact on the guest/customers. Good hotels should normally have 15-20% of overall outlay of the hotel cost, which is also influenced by the overall theme of the hotel.

RAJIV KHANNA: The interior budget of a hotel is maintained firstly by keeping the classification in perspective and secondly, the look and feel that is desired.

What are the key design areas that need to be addressed when planning a hotel?

PREM NATH: Any hotel has two key design areas, firstly the lobby/reception lounge and secondly the guest rooms and bathrooms, which the customer should find welcoming and comforting.

The lobby/reception lounge is the first points of visual contact for the guest in a hotel and therefore creates the first impression. The grandeur or simplicity and theme speak volumes of what might be in store during their stay.

As for the guest rooms and bathrooms – when the most basic yet overlooked facility is taken care well it creates lasting memories and this brings the guest back over and over again. Anything else is just an add-on.

ABHAY KULKARNI: All the areas are of equal importance. I cannot afford to have any area compromised whether it is the rooms, or the public areas or the back of the house. One cannot isolate any area of planning, right from the traffic planning to the public areas.

RAJIV KHANNA: The key design areas that need to be addressed are front office, public areas, and private zone such as the rooms, back of the house, the energy systems and the aesthetics.

What part of the design process is crucial to a hotel’s success?

PREM NATH: Site selection, theme, branding and budget is crucial to a hotel’s success apart from the hotel’s business model, the celebrity quotient, tariff etc.

Site or location of the hotel dominates the designing and planning as it should be sustainable. The theme of the hotel/resort designing may also be influenced by the local culture/environment.

ABHAY KULKARNI: The concept and the schematic stage are very important when planning the anatomy of the building. So is the distribution of the spaces. The crucial elements are detailing and execution.

The detailing is very important and has to be executed very carefully. Even if the owner spends a lot of money and gets the best of the materials, without quality execution, it can all become a waste.

RAJIV KHANNA: The right facilities planning vis a vis energy is the part of the design process that is crucial.

With catchphrases like ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ of prime importance these days, how easy is it to incorporate these concepts in a hotel’s design?

PREM NATH: Green and sustainable has become part of life. For engineering projects the world over, sustainability is the most important aspect.

People have become conscientious about their usage as well as conservation of resources. It is not a question of easy or difficult, green and sustainable characteristics are mandatory now. Most importantly for a hotel, which operates 24x7, it saves a lot of water and energy reducing the overhead costs.

ABHAY KULKARNI: If you talk of them as design concepts they are not difficult, one just needs to have a conscious design to achieve this. The cost factor is a concern though because sustainable buildings help to recover the operational costs with savings in the long run.

It has to be thought over well in advance. If you do it as an afterthought, it becomes difficult to accommodate changes in the design.

RAJIV KHANNA: Even though it undertakes initial cost, we are conscious of creating energy efficient and self sustained hotels and make an effort to incorporate the energy concepts with reference to water and power.

What role does design play in a hotel’s overall image?

PREM NATH: A hotel is perceived to a great extent just by its design. Design creates a visual image of the hotel. Some of the good hotels are marketed in the media with the help of their design visuals alone.

A hotel’s elevation, décor, theme should be able to make a statement.

ABHAY KULKARNI: Everything is important. What I want to emphasise is that design is not just visual. It has to be a thought out process.

For me, design comes from all aspects. The superficial visual needs to be supported by the actually functional aspects of the hotel.

RAJIV KHANNA: Design is an integral part of a successful hotel and its overall image. The design format evolves the elements, which blend together to create the desired image, both visual and functional.

What are the trends in hospitality design right now?

PREM NATH: Hotels are places of attractions and therefore should have a special appeal. Hospitality designing is becoming hi-tech in appearance and function.

There is inbuilt efficiency in terms of space designing, usage and consumption.

The new generation is well acquainted with the latest in technology, art, even architecture and engineering and this expectation seeps down to their expectation of a hotel in terms of the design - to be modern, contemporary as well as lavish. These bases have formed the trends of today.

ABHAY KULKARNI: Friendly, clean, luxury.

RAJIV KHANNA: Minimalistic aesthetics, functional and comfortable such as sleeping systems, energy efficient with a stress on mood lighting, and electronically savvy.

What are the challenges of creating designs that are sensitive to the culture and location of a hotel?

PREM NATH: A hotel’s location and culture can be suitably exploited to bring in the saleable theme. But this requires in-depth study and representation so that it becomes universally acceptable for multifarious customers/clients.

This can be achieved through local art /artefacts, dress codes, cuisines, also cultural activities etc.

ABHAY KULKARNI: The major challenge is the owner and the designer need to be at par as far as sensitivity is concerned. Matching an efficient consultant and responsible owner is a challenge. We have no dearth of talent and quality in India.

RAJIV KHANNA: The hotel design process revolves around the five elements and juxtaposes with location, the climatic reference and culture such as the material aesthetics.

The cultural ethos of the location has its own idiosyncrasies and is blended within the designs for the discerning traveller or tourist. The challenge of creating a wholesome hotel experience lies within the subtlety of this blend, which though challenging, is achievable.

Abhay Kulkarni
REGIONAL DIRECTOR, TECHNICAL SERVICES, HILTON WORLDWIDE

He has worked as chief architect for Hotel Leela Venture Ltd for Leela Projects such as Leela Palace Bangalore, Leela Palace, Goa, and Leela palace, Udaipur. He then joined K Raheja Corp, Mumbai and worked on Westin, Marriot, Renaissance and Four points by Sheraton.

Presently working with Hilton Worldwide, as Regional Director, Projects, Technical Services since Jan 2009, he is involved in all the Hilton brands coming to India.

Prem Nath
ARCHITECT, PREM NATH ASSOCIATES

A gold medalist from JJ School of Architecture, he heads Prem Nath And Associates, a total design group that has received recognition for having maintained a high standard of design from an aesthetic, environmental, energy-efficient and utility point of view for over 40 years.

He has achieved success in a wide array of projects in residential and commercial complexes, IT/SEZ Parks, large integrated townships, starred hotels and resorts, malls/multiplexes, high-end residential villas and celebrity homes.

Rajiv Khanna
MANAGING DIRECTOR, GRID PLC

An architect from IIT Kharagpur, he is the MD of GridPLC, a leading architects firm based in New Delhi.

In its 18 years of existence the firm’s portfolio is into hospitality, commercial and housing projects pan India with clients like DLF, Parsvnath, Bestwestern, Choice, and NBCC to name a few.

 [hotelierindia.com]