The New Romance of Hotels

There’s a natural romance to travel.

People are not simply travelling to a destination, but also away from their daily lives. There is an expectation or an aspiration to feel different. To feel special. Whether it is to fulfill a dream of luxury, an experience of simplicity, or a connection to an exotic local culture. The underlying desire is to be in another state.

Of course people also travel for a myriad of other reasons such as business or medical. But hotel designers can still create environments that offer an encounter with otherness. Kirk Ellis, Lifestyle Portfolio Director of dwp says: “As hotel designers we make decisions that enable experiences. But we can’t tell someone: ‘Go there to feel like a rockstar’. What we can do though; is make something special. Out of the ordinary.”

Previously a luxury hotel environment tried to provide a one size fits all model. But as the old adage says: ‘You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time’. So, after Lifestyle hotels such as Kimpton and The W Hotel became profitable and effective by pushing boundaries of tailormade style, other operators made the choice to focus on specific markets, core experiences and follow suite.  

It is the dawning age of experience. The new romance of hotels, whether you are a 20-30 year old urban adventurer in dire need of an extensive mini-bar, a couple who will never leave the boudoir, or a business traveller who wants a simple room with very good tech: designers, architects and hotel operators are conspiring to find exactly the right fit for you. Your very own sense of otherness is undoubtedly just a Google away.