Fashion should play a key role in shaping hotel interiors, Jeffrey Ornstein, CEO of J/Brice Design International has warned Middle Eastern hotel developers, owners and managers.
“Fashion now drives hotel concepts and design; the memorable hotels of the 2010 decade will be regarded for sexy sophistication, daring interiors and mood-evoking colours,” he said.
“Ban the term ‘hotel design’ and replace it with ‘hotel fashion’. Design is too much about buildings. Fashion places all the focus on the guests and their social and cultural imperatives. Fashion creates guest experiences that resonate with today’s traveller. The great hotels of our decade will be created by fashion savvy cultural spies who can read the waves of change."
Where location used to be the most important factor in hotel design, we have entered a new era where guests are constantly using the Internet to check, compare and contrast, causing a shift in priorities.
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“Location, location, location used to be the hotel industry mantra. But in the 2010 decade of the guest, the mantra is compare, compare, compare, as even the most wealthy and sophisticated travellers check the Internet to create their own personal experience and value proposition. Successful operators who deliver on their brand and reign in costs will boost their bottom line in the 2010 decade.”
As a specialist in hospitality design, Ornstein is trying to persuade regional hotel developers to shed their European modernist image and instead create their own brand identity.
J/Brice Design was founded in 1989, and has offices and studios in Boston, USA and Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Regional projects include the Hotel Khalifa in Doha and the Al-Khobar Hotel and Towers in Saudi. The firm is also designing the interior of a 4.800 m2 summer palace and a 120 villa residential community.
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