As guests travel in the post-pandemic era, the memory of lockdowns still drives their preferences for experiences, destinations and safety. They also often want to feel like they brought a piece of home to their guest room. In response, hotel operators need to offer rooms that provide a personalized, exciting, comfortable and healthy experience.
In 2024, room design focuses on six key trends: personalization, technology, health, sustainability, local experiences and cost efficiency amid inflation and labor shortages.
Personalized comfort and multifunctionality
With the rise in popularity of short-term rental properties, guests are used to a more personalized experience when they travel. Hotel developers are responding by creating rooms that mix branding, functionality and technological advancements, making guests feel like they are getting a one-of-a-kind experience.
Properties in high-end markets are already offering ultra-chic branded rooms. Some of these are designed in collaboration with luxury brands such as Bulgari or Lamborghini. This trend will continue.
Guests also want multifunctional rooms that make it easy to perform multiple tasks in one space. An example is a room with a versatile table — low for dining and TV, raised for a laptop desk during video calls or work.
Smart rooms that can be easily personalized are growing in popularity. These rooms can include for example, voice controls, a variety of streaming choices and other owned media content guests are used to accessing at home. Additionally, they can include smart mirrors with video feeds of weather, news, entertainment or emails that can be accessed seamlessly. Customization can also include digital artwork, temperature settings, entertainment choices, light levels and other features.
Enhanced technology
Technological advancements will continue to make life easier for travelers. Especially those looking for ways of performing various tasks more quickly and efficiently. For example, allowing guests to enhance their video calls by changing the color and appearance of a wall behind them. It can also be by having them use a smart TV to display a personalized background or artwork. This will be achieved through lighting controls or another future technology changing the appearance of walls.
The increasing use of artificial intelligence in the rooms will allow guests to select entertainment options, in addition to preset environmental settings, make restaurant reservations easily or provide language translations right within the room. Furthermore, guest rooms will also include robotic in-room services as well as more robust cybersecurity to secure all these systems.
Individualized wellness
Although hotels will still continue to offer on-site fitness centers and spas, guests are keeping their health and safety in mind when considering taking advantage of these amenities. As a result, designers are developing ways to offer these services directly inside guest rooms. For example, high-end properties might place luxury exercise equipment in guest rooms.
Guest bathrooms are being designed to offer an elevated, spa-like experience through the use of softer materials and edges, better lighting and high-end consumables. Other new options will include placing hardy live plants in rooms.
Environmental sustainability
Guests will continue demanding a hotel room that maintains a high level of environmental sustainability. Consequently, designers are adding energy-efficient lighting and occupancy sensors. In addition to providing solar power, using solar water heating systems and implementing low-flow water fixtures for water conservation, they will also include alternative waste disposal options like composting and recycling in the rooms. This will subsequently require new cabinetry designs and waste storage fixtures.
Authentic experiences and aesthetics
The hospitality industry responds to guest preferences, incorporating local aesthetics, design and materials to infuse guest rooms with regional character. Therefore, rooms will also be highly personalized to reflect hyper-local historical and cultural elements, local F&B options, etc.
Reduced cost and ease of maintenance
Micro rooms within budget and mid-range properties have been gaining popularity and will continue to be attractive to economy-conscious travelers. Ideal for high-cost real estate markets with labor shortages, these rooms demand less maintenance and housekeeping due to their design.
Hotel guest room design trends for 2024
As a NYC-based Urbahn Architects associate specializing in hospitality design, Ryan E. Bieber, RA and LEED AP, discusses the guest-room trends that will define 2024.
As guests travel in the post-pandemic era, the memory of lockdowns still drives their preferences for experiences, destinations and safety. They also often want to feel like they brought a piece of home to their guest room. In response, hotel operators need to offer rooms that provide a personalized, exciting, comfortable and healthy experience.
In 2024, room design focuses on six key trends: personalization, technology, health, sustainability, local experiences and cost efficiency amid inflation and labor shortages.
Personalized comfort and multifunctionality
With the rise in popularity of short-term rental properties, guests are used to a more personalized experience when they travel. Hotel developers are responding by creating rooms that mix branding, functionality and technological advancements, making guests feel like they are getting a one-of-a-kind experience.
Properties in high-end markets are already offering ultra-chic branded rooms. Some of these are designed in collaboration with luxury brands such as Bulgari or Lamborghini. This trend will continue.
Guests also want multifunctional rooms that make it easy to perform multiple tasks in one space. An example is a room with a versatile table — low for dining and TV, raised for a laptop desk during video calls or work.
Smart rooms that can be easily personalized are growing in popularity. These rooms can include for example, voice controls, a variety of streaming choices and other owned media content guests are used to accessing at home. Additionally, they can include smart mirrors with video feeds of weather, news, entertainment or emails that can be accessed seamlessly. Customization can also include digital artwork, temperature settings, entertainment choices, light levels and other features.
Enhanced technology
Technological advancements will continue to make life easier for travelers. Especially those looking for ways of performing various tasks more quickly and efficiently. For example, allowing guests to enhance their video calls by changing the color and appearance of a wall behind them. It can also be by having them use a smart TV to display a personalized background or artwork. This will be achieved through lighting controls or another future technology changing the appearance of walls.
The increasing use of artificial intelligence in the rooms will allow guests to select entertainment options, in addition to preset environmental settings, make restaurant reservations easily or provide language translations right within the room. Furthermore, guest rooms will also include robotic in-room services as well as more robust cybersecurity to secure all these systems.
Individualized wellness
Although hotels will still continue to offer on-site fitness centers and spas, guests are keeping their health and safety in mind when considering taking advantage of these amenities. As a result, designers are developing ways to offer these services directly inside guest rooms. For example, high-end properties might place luxury exercise equipment in guest rooms.
Guest bathrooms are being designed to offer an elevated, spa-like experience through the use of softer materials and edges, better lighting and high-end consumables. Other new options will include placing hardy live plants in rooms.
Environmental sustainability
Guests will continue demanding a hotel room that maintains a high level of environmental sustainability. Consequently, designers are adding energy-efficient lighting and occupancy sensors. In addition to providing solar power, using solar water heating systems and implementing low-flow water fixtures for water conservation, they will also include alternative waste disposal options like composting and recycling in the rooms. This will subsequently require new cabinetry designs and waste storage fixtures.
Authentic experiences and aesthetics
The hospitality industry responds to guest preferences, incorporating local aesthetics, design and materials to infuse guest rooms with regional character. Therefore, rooms will also be highly personalized to reflect hyper-local historical and cultural elements, local F&B options, etc.
Reduced cost and ease of maintenance
Micro rooms within budget and mid-range properties have been gaining popularity and will continue to be attractive to economy-conscious travelers. Ideal for high-cost real estate markets with labor shortages, these rooms demand less maintenance and housekeeping due to their design.
Ryan E. Bieber,
RA and LEED AP
urbahn.com
@urbahnarch
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