It's about Time...
Time has become the most valuable currency in the modern world, and because it's finite we're more careful with how, where and with whom we chose to spend it.
Time has always been a core part of hospitality, presenting an opportunity for "time away from everyday routine", be it a moment in the day to slow down for a mindful coffee, escaping for an evening out, or time away from work, on holiday. The hospitality sector also provides time to celebrate, time to invest in yourself and time to invest in the relationships that matter most.
Time has a new tempo however, or rather tempos; both speeding up and slowing down.
With a sense that we are running out of time fuelled by climate change and natural resource limitations, there is an urgency and feeling we need to cram everything in. FOMO. Whilst running in parallel is a recognition that we need to slow-down, disconnect and create time to accommodate what is important to us, pace ourselves before we burnout. JOMO.
As hospitality is a place where people spend time outside of their day-to-day routine, where people expect to have the best possible time, understanding this shift in time value is important for us and our clients at Maven Design Studio. Here are our 5 takeaways from the new Tempo of Time for interiors:
Embracing Legacy
With so many generations living simultaneously, we live in a time where there is a strong desire to embrace and encourage the legacy of multiple generations living, working, and traveling together. With this comes a certain storytelling and nostalgia, a curiosity to learn from previous generations as a way to pass on the legacy. So what can you do?
• Shiny perfection has lost some of its well, shine. People are also appreciating the aging process in construction as much as humans, being surrounded by materials such as leather, metals and timber patinated, weathered and worn over time along with age-old craft techniques and family heirlooms as curiosity grows with a slower pace.
• Legacy brands such as the Orient Express, Raffles, The Ritz are attracting increasing customers due to their authenticity, prestige and glamour that has a timeless appeal.
• Provide space and facilities for larger groups travelling together.
• Build on the legacy of your location, what was the town, city or village known for? We encourage a vernacular (native) design approach using unique and local materials and colour palettes to reflect the region for example, willow in Somerset, flint in Dorset, tin in Cornwall, clay and thatch in Devon.
Slowing Down and Taking Time Out
In a 2023 survey by Ipsos on global trends, 73% of respondents said they wished they could slow the pace of their life. With an ever-increasing speed of life today, people are responding with a desire to take a time out, catch their breath and slow the pace in all aspects of their lives across the work, home, leisure and travel time.
One reason for this is technology, that has accelerated us to an immediacy culture with an expectation we can achieve more in less time. With advancements in AI too, we're increasingly feeling the pace spiralling away. Ironically, but understandably this has the opposite effect on us humans; feeling overwhelmed we slam on the brakes, disconnect, slow down and retreat to recharge.
Burnout is prevalent in the 'always on' culture, so no wonder people are choosing remote, nature-filled retreats to disconnect from 24 hour news, glaring lighting, digital air conditioning panels, sleep trackers and wifi! People are searching out good old fashioned hospitality basics which focuses on the human to human care. So what can you do?
• Embrace the solo guest. More people are choosing to take "Me Time" across hospitality and wellness. How can they feel comfortable with choices for social and less social interactions?
• Integrate wellbeing elements such as natural, tactile surfaces, circadian lighting, healthy air that reconnects guests to natural cycles, not the digital world.
• Offer screen free interactions for reservations, ordering, checking in and payments.
• The holiday no longer starts at the destination, the journey is the whole experience. Encourage sustainable, slow travel and exploring the area by providing bike storage and hire.
• Provide facilities for those that want to stay longer, or that may be on multi-stop trips with more luggage to stow.
• People want to experience the local cuisine and culture whilst exploring at a slower mindful pace so ground them into your space with local elements rather than waking up in a hotel room that could be anywhere.
Flexible Work and Leisure Time
Most people no longer spend their days in clear periods of “business” and “leisure” time, with digitalisation life has become more fluid for many. Within hotels and third spaces, guests can readily shift back and forth between work and play meaning the design and operation needs to support the lifestyle of guests. Rather than designing hotels by function such as sleep, eat, exercise, we place guest needs, experience and emotions at the heart of the design process to challenge the status quo of what a hotel is and reflect the needs of todays guests. So what could you consider?
• Adding communal tables to enable guests and locals to interact as well as doubling up as private spaces for meetings, special occasions and those large cross-generational gatherings.
• Create an area for video calls without music, good acoustics and nice backdrops for video calls for locals and guests to use when needed without disrupting other guests on their leisure time.
• Co-working spaces in hotels can attract in locals and digital nomads too, particularly during the off-season. Consider how you can create different atmospheres from the same space to suit different needs for your operation to become a meeting room or events space at other times?
• For locals with small home spaces, can they host their own gatherings and meetings with you? Consider what spaces and functions you could provide that could be useful beyond a gym membership, viewing the hotel as a local hub.
Time in Community - Seeking Connection and Impact
There is a significant shift in people wanting to spend time in community. As a response to increased loneliness globally, people are seeking out communities with a collective energy for a shared interest, commitment to a cause or simply to spend time with like-minded people.
Whilst traveling, they're also seeking to authentically connect to a destination and culture in deeper and more experiential ways.
What could be solitary activities have turned into sociable ones enabling people to connect, for example cycle and running groups, art groups, sound bath circles, the spa, working from home groups. These have a focus on the activity whilst acting as a social ice breaker. So what could you do to connect to communities?
• Focus on the desire for guests to work on their wellbeing. Create spaces and events that stimulate all the senses, including sound, lighting and scents.
• Provide the facilities to offer private social spaces where local groups can regularly meet up, for example hotels such as Inhabit and Locke provide a weekly programme of running groups and yoga classes for guests and locals to join.
• You can also cross connect the group space to food & beverage offers, spa, wellbeing etc by offering cooking lessons, local delicacies, wine tasting events, talks and craft workshops where people can join in and connect with others.
• 81% of people want to ensure the money they spend goes back into the local community. Support local suppliers including in furniture, paints, fabrics, artwork and lighting.
• Liaise with the local community to find out what help is needed. Businesses that support local initiatives and improvements will have the edge over those that don't.
The Future is Now
Society is increasingly aware of the urgent need to address climate change and environmental impact, and yet time and life doesn't stop to figure it out. Guests still want to feel good about their travels so they need hospitality businesses to make them an clear and easy sustainable choice to spend their time and money with, without knowing the ins and outs of it all.
The hospitality industry can address the needs of the future, today by taking a holistic approach across operations, buildings, travel and local communities and ecosystems. Sustainable hospitality isn’t just an ethical choice for operators; it’s a financial one that represents a solid return on investment over you guessed it, time, all whilst safeguarding against future regulatory risks.
So what you can do:
• Adopt a circular economy approach to procurement, whether giving a second lease of life to furniture, opting for quality materials to last or implementing design that can be disassembled for recycling at the end of life.
• Choose quality, timeless pieces over marketing driven trends. Remember The Ritz has never gone out of style!
• Choose climate-neutral materials such as natural paints and waxes, recycled fibre carpets, FSC wooden flooring, repurposed textiles and wool blend fabrics.
• Switching from gas to renewable electric powered kitchens and HVAC along with fitting better lighting and heating controls can significantly reduce operational carbon on your journey to Net Zero. From The Shepherd in Mayfair to Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, there are plenty of examples where sustainability can be achieved even in historic properties without impacting on the guest experience. Work with partners like FutureLeap to measure, manage and reduce your carbon emissions.
• Working with like-minded partners that are committed to long-term sustainability too will empower you to the best choices in each area of expertise such as architects, sustainability consultants, engineers and interior designers.
• Lastly, good maintenance is key. Look after what you have so it can continue to serve for as long as possible.
You can read more about our tips and advice for sustainable design here.