Design of hotel support spaces, often referred to as the “back of house,” or more recently the “heart of house,” attract less attention than public space design, but these areas directly support guest satisfaction, employee morale and hotel profitability. Several key principals should be considered when creating these spaces.
‘Limit walking and waiting’
Giving due credit to a long-term client who coined this phrase, it best summarizes the guiding principal at the core of good operational design. It succinctly reminds us service can be undermined by bad design and that time is a commodity equally important to guests and employees.
The guest who waits too long at check-in, for room service or for their car at the valet is often doing so because of poor design. Similarly, the well-intentioned employee who waits for service elevators or spends an inordinate part of their shift walking through service corridors or who retraces their steps is often being hampered by poor design.
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Revisit this mantra “walking and waiting” often in design. Help quantify travel times by actually walking the distances being created. Invest in experts such as elevator and food service consultants to define service standards. When possible, benchmark your service delivery against those of your competitors, helping to establish the acceptable wait and walk times for your hotel.
Think of ‘back of house’ as an amenity
Thinking of support spaces as equally important as your public spaces can greatly improve employee morale, attraction and retention. Employee entrances near the loading dock or linoleum floored break rooms do not convey that your employees matter as much as your guests.
Investment in your employee facilities will vary based on property size and budget, but consider simple improvements such as providing natural light, access to outdoor space for breaks and moderate finish upgrades. The use of color or photomurals to enliven spaces beyond the typical white, beige and grey of employee spaces is a cost-effective solution. Use decorative lighting to transform spaces. Fluorescent fixtures provide important energy savings, but consider alternatives to the traditional 2’ x 4’ recessed panel. In larger properties, create a signature employee space such as a lounge or cafeteria that reflects a quality and level of finish comparable to guest areas. Invest in the minimal premium of upgrading wall finishes and adding bumper protection in high traffic areas to extend the durability and the value of your amenity.
Plan well
Engage your designers in a detailed programming exercise before initiating full design of the hotel.
A good program is more than a list of spaces and square footage; it will elaborate on the physical and environmental characteristics of each space in your hotel and will identify important connections between spaces.
A related activity, often referred to as “block and stack,” can quickly identify the arrangement and relationship of spaces and provide a conceptual analysis of work flow and travel distances. As you advance the design, use the program as a checklist to confirm defined requirements are being met.
Ask your employees
Our most comprehensive designs are the result of feedback from housekeeping and maintenance staff who participated in the design process. Make sure your designers understand the day-to-day activities of your employees. Access to users provides detailed insights resulting in more efficient design, ranging from enhanced layout of workspaces to details such as more functional cabinetry design.
One word of caution: Employees are great authors of their space. Engage managers and executives as editors before committing all the ideas into a design to avoid scope creep. Six months to a year after you open, conduct a detailed walkthrough of your hotel with your designers and interview staff. This post occupancy evaluation will help evaluate the success of your planning and design and provide valuable guidance for future projects and renovations.
Eric M. Rahe is a principal and member of the executive leadership team at BLT Architects. His 30 years of practice include hospitality, residential retail, commercial office and educational projects with emphasis on large-scale hospitality and resort projects. He can be reached at 215-563-3900 or by visiting BLT’s website at www.blta.com.
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