The film-inspired adage “you had me at hello” rings true every time hotel guests turn those doorknobs and step into their home-away-from-home for the coming 24 hours.
First glance is crucial, and anything beyond that only confirms or challenges the initial impression. Customized hotel furniture is a great way to instantly capture a guest’s attention, especially if the pieces are unexpected, intuitive, and attractive.
How to Know Exactly Which Customized Hotel Furniture to Invest In
So how much does customized hotel furniture matter in this scenario? A lot.
Although we would recommend that the best way to achieve a design that really impresses your guests is to customize as much as possible, we understand that the possibilities of customizing -- due to budget or other considerations -- vary from hotel to hotel.
We’ve compiled a guide to the pieces that are the best to customize and will yield an amazing ROI for the custom furniture investment. This will happen through repeat guest stays, word-of-mouth marketing from guests, guests posting positive reviews online, and more.
Space: Maximize It
Every traveler is different, but your hotel rooms remain the same. That’s why the concept of open space has to be all-encompassing. Fortunately, that’s easy to do by focusing on the word “open.”
Nothing causes psychological withdrawal more than entering an unfamiliar, cluttered room. Open space creates open minds, so foster a positive mindset by furnishing your hotel rooms with a minimalist approach.
Design furniture with simple features that minimize footprint. This allows guests to walk freely, practice yoga poses, or provide space for little ones to play.
Desks:
Can you create a desk with built-in storage space that doubles as a bin for toys or sports gear?
- Media stands: How about wall-mountable TV and media stands with fold-out shelves for computers, and hooks for hanging cords, chargers or even tennis rackets?
- Side tables: Instead of traditional side tables, consider armchairs and small sofas with built-in drink holders and pop-out trays for snacks, games, and tablets.
- Bed ideas: With the growing trend of solo travelers, it could be a huge space saver to design a fun and creative single-bed configuration for select rooms. And who says you can't bring back the Murphy-style wall beds from the 1920s and 1950s?
Travelers who relish the experience of a hotel room delight in unexpected features and furnishings that also provide more room for lounging or working.
Aesthetics: The Wow Factor
Gone are the days when a hotel room is “just a place to sleep.” Hotels aren’t cheap, so travelers want their money’s worth – which means they need to feel inspired, uplifted, or just plain wowed when entering a room.
Does your furniture stand out for its sleek, contemporary design elements or for a cozy, throwback-vintage vibe? Do colors bring an instant feeling of delight or create a calming effect after a long day or work or sightseeing?
Furniture is the perfect way to customize a hotel room without making major structural changes.
- Chairs and bed panels: Try an explosion of color in a chair back or bed panel. Alternatively, create a wavy ocean-motif back on a desk chair to make workspaces more enticing.
- Themes: Consider replicating nature themes throughout your customized hotel furniture to offset the enclosed feeling of small rooms. Using solid wood for earth-toned furniture designs can subliminally evoke a forest ambiance while also indicating your affinity for sustainable and replenishable natural materials.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your guests don’t notice or care about these things -- because they usually do.
Functionality: Does Anyone Really Care?
Everyone cares about functionality – especially when travel is so dependent on apps, digital maps, foreign language translators, and multiple electronic devices.
- Charging stations: Does your customized hotel furniture allow for discreet built-in charging stations that eliminate awkward stooping in search of unused plugs?
- Bedside tables: Could you provide bedside tables with small slide-out shelves to hold cellphones, tablets, or remote controls at night?
- Headboards and desks: How about headboards with touch-light controls or desks that double as multimedia stations? For those who like to read or watch TV sitting upright in bed, upholstered headboards are a godsend.
- Faux fireplaces: For hotel rooms without a view, think about designing a lounge/settee set against the wall with a small built-in electric fireplace. This provides both ambience and heating.
Give Guests What They Really Want
Sometimes we don’t know what we actually want until we see it. However, this is rarely true with hotel guests. Studies show that customized hotel furniture appeals to both frequent travelers and one-time vacationers.
The bed is the largest and most visible piece of furniture in a hotel room, and it’s where most guests spent most of their time, either sleeping, lounging or watching television.
Prioritize the bed design and then move on to a coordinating (and comfortable!) armchair, the second-most desirable hotel-room furnishing. If you have a deep understanding of your clientele, which you should, then you already know that business travelers rate desks way up on the list while families want that ever-important media center with built-in storage space for gadgets, snacks, and a mini-fridge.
Need some help designing your customized hotel pieces? We can assist you from the design stage to the installation stage.
Reach out any time; we're always happy to help!
