Improve Your Hotel’s Visual Appeal By Focusing on These 3 Basics

The allure of a hotel depends on more than just a comfortable bed and impeccable customer service. The aesthetic and the decor design can transform a boring or uncomfortable stay into a memorable experience.

When guests enter a hotel lobby, they are greeted by a reception desk and by an atmosphere that emulates the hotel’s character. Shabby and boring decor can make the place feel cheap. A well-thought-out design can bring a sense of comfort or luxury. And sure most guests typically don’t spend the bulk of their trips in their hotel rooms, but opening the door to a welcoming and aesthetically pleasing environment can make a difference in how they feel about their stay.

McKinsey & Co., a consulting firm, tracked 300 companies over a five-year period and found a strong correlation between high design scores and good financial performance. Companies with high design scores had 32 percent higher revenue growth.

“Good design matters,” the group concluded. “The market disproportionately rewarded companies that truly stood out from the crowd.”

Refreshing your business’s design doesn’t have to be an expensive task. Comfort doesn’t have to align perfectly with pure luxury.

1. The foundation

For both your lobby and your room, find an overall theme to follow. Keep that theme consistent throughout the building and coordinate it with your target demographic. If you work in a city, match its vibe and keep things modern. If you’re coastal, maybe stick to a more relaxed feel. If you’re a luxury spot, then go for a more elegant theme. Even just a simple color scheme can help emulate these themes.

Try to add unique touches that match. Local art or professional photos of nearby sites can be appealing. Adding fresh flowers throughout the hotel is also a nice touch. Whatever direction you go in, keep it cohesive.

2. Bedding

It might be time to change if your mattresses are adorned with busy patterns or scratchy materials. Avoid overly textured bedding and pillow cases; they can be uncomfortable and bring down the room’s visual appeal. It’s also effective to have a variety of pillows, perhaps a couple of plush ones and a couple of thin ones. Every guest’s preference is different, and having pillows of different widths can add dimension to a made bed.

Guests will often look through photos of your rooms before even booking, so it’s important to make a good impression. Tacky patterns can make the place visually unappealing, no matter how expensive they may have been to purchase. Opting for basic white bedding can often elevate the sense of luxury. If not white, stick to neutral tones and pick duvets or comforters with a plush feel. If making a switch in bedding is on your to-do list, keep track of discounts and sales.

3. Walls

Similar to beds, neutral tones are the optimal choice. Even a light blue is neutral depending on the tone – perfect for beachy or bright aesthetics. Warm colors on the other hand feel inviting, chic, and more luxurious. Accent walls, yellows, and busy wallpapers can make the room feel outdated and shabby.

Add nice wall art to embrace personality. If the artwork is faded or in otherwise bad shape, swapping it out for newer decor that fits the theme you’re trying to emulate is worth the investment.