A hotel is a place with a reputation. It’s a place of luxury, relaxation, and ambiance. And the first introduction to the aesthetic you’re trying to create throughout the entire hotel, ranging from the spa, to pool, to the hotel rooms, is the hotel lobby. A hotel’s lobby is more like an introduction to a book than it is like a common entryway in a house or apartment building. The purpose of a hotel lobby is to take firm control of a customer’s first impression of your business. If they leave and come back, you want them to remember your hotel and come back, and if the hotel lobby being an impressive piece of design is the way to ensure repeat customers and good reviews, what could be the downside?
A more important question though, is how do you manage to create a lasting impression in a hotel lobby? How do you impose a sense of style that’s both welcoming and chic that people can remember fondly and the only real fixture you need to the check-in desk? There’s so much you can do to make your hotel lobby stand out. Let’s take a look.
Locality
Some of the most memorable hotels are well-remembered by those who visit because of the theme. While chains like Hilton and Marriott hardly ever invest much in establishing a real theme beyond “nicely decorated,” other cult-favorite hotels do just that. They start by identifying if there’s anything unusual in the area around them. Beautiful metropolitan hotels in the center of London take advantage of the history and character of London. They feature incredible architecture, which the city is known for, in the form of different prominent styles that you can see throughout town like Rococo and more. A hotel by the name of the Chattanooga Station Hotel turned an old WWII and confederate train station into an art-deco styled hotel where you could stay in old renovated train cars. These little pieces of character that are based on the surroundings or history of a place manage to tie-in the appearance and feeling of the destination in which your guests are staying with, and thus tie itself directly to the experiences they had there. This can be done in any way you’d like and can always be open to interpretation, but it’s the perfect way to get your mind thinking in terms of what sort of theme and aesthetic you’d like to tie your hotel to currently.
Prioritize Comfort
It’s important to welcome guests to a building where they’re going to be sleeping and relaxing with a comfortable first impression. This can be accomplished through a couple of different means. First, lighting is one of the most important aspects of the functionality of your hotel lobby as well as establishing the warmth of the character of the hotel. You won’t want fluorescent lights glittering off of every surface and inherently hurting everyone’s eyes. There’s a reason that the lighting in Walmart doesn’t make anyone feel particularly good. Lighting is one of the most important design choices you’ll make in your lobby as too much lighting will remove the sense of comfort you want your guests to feel. While too little lighting will turn into a hazard. Hire a lighting specialist to help you find your middle ground and then turn your mind to chairs and other comforting amenities in your lobby.
Whether you determine that fresh beverages should be available to your guests or not, it’s important to provide a sense of comfort via the seating area. Your guests likely won’t spend much time in your lobby, unless they’re waiting for their room or merely passing the time until a cab comes to retrieve them, however, it’s important that you offer seating that matches your aesthetic and provides a sense of comfort. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll need really comfortable furniture, you simply furniture that makes your guests feel comfortable. That could come down to placement as well as how well they match with the current established aesthetic of the area.
Help Your Aesthetic With Artwork
If you’re concerned about being able to establish a clear aesthetic and theme in the lobby, look to good art to help. Giant paintings, modern works, and photography can all help bring your hotel’s lobby together. These pieces should reflect the environments and feelings you want your guests to think of and have when in your hotel. For example, stunning watercolor vistas of Florida’s beautiful natural swampland or beach fronts would be a beautiful addition to any Orlando hotel. Pictures depicting blue sky and sunshine, which people chase to Orlando would also be fitting. For it traces back to that same, valuable sense of locality that helps ensure the hotel guests you have now will remember you later and when they come back to your area, they’ll come back to you.
Functionality
Another major consideration you’ll need to make as you craft your hotel’s lobby is the functionality. In addition to the balance of lighting effects, you’ll also need to worry about providing amenities for guests in the lobby. Consider investing in a small snack stand for customers to access some food when they don’t want to go out or order in. Providing amenities like high-quality WiFi in the lobby will help younger guests who often need their devices more make plans and stay connected to the people they need to be in contact with. Additionally, USB ports and plenty of charging ports will give them the opportunity to stay plugged-in, and if they can’t get to their room immediately, they’ll at least be able to access electricity to charge-up their devices and stay connected to entertainment at the least. This is true for professionals as well as the average traveling family. Make sure there’s shuttle schedules easily on display and help desks versus check-in desks are readily accessible and easy to find.
Tie-Together Your Aesthetic With Epoxy Flooring
Hotel lobbies are famous for trying to set themselves apart in any way they can. You could accomplish this by providing unique visual interest in your flooring. Additionally, once you choose one definitive design aspect, it’ll become easier to match the smaller things to that larger aspect. Thus, if you choose an attractive flooring fixture, you’ll be able to select matching chairs and lighting that works well together. An added bonus is that epoxy is one of the most easily customizable surfaces available for flooring design at this moment. Indeed, you can choose to use organic materials in your flooring, making your flooring look like a river cutting through a valley. You could try metallic epoxy or use 3D effects in your flooring to create the look you want. If you’d like the distinguished look of Spanish tile or stunning rivers of marble, you can accomplish that with epoxy as well. It’s the perfect flooring material to help you pull the design elements of your hotel’s lobby together.
Reach Out to PPI Epoxy Coatings For More Information
If you’re enchanted by the idea of epoxy flooring, or even interested in the possibilities it holds, reach out to us. We’re passionate about providing commercial property owners and renters alike in the Orlando area plenty of options to explore the kind of epoxy flooring they can access. Our full-service flooring installation is quick and easy, and we provide a talent and finesse to our work that is unmatched. Reach out to us to find out more about how epoxy coatings work if it’s right for you and other information
If you’re not totally sold on the idea of epoxy yet, browse our gallery of wonderful work and learn more about how we treat industry-specific applications. If you’re a little lost and need some guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us in person. We’re always at your beck and call to help answer any questions you may have.