How do you design an inclusive and welcoming lobby for all types of guests?

How does one design anything for "all types of guests?" As Aristotle put it, a friend to all is a friend to none. Can honeymooners enjoy their drinks next to an orthodontist’s conference? Or a small party of DINKs expound their views on Nietzsche while a pack of rug rats runs amok? Hotels must state their purpose and hold that allegiance. The Setai Miami’s lobby was South Beach’s conspicuous consumption heaven. The long bar at The Puli Shanghai hosted the local expat ton at all hours—quietly. Would those brilliant spaces suit the San Francisco Hilton or Marina Bay Sands, even at scale? Heck, no. They’re mazy and dark; it’d be chaos. So, how do you design a great lobby? Choose conceptual integrity and accept you can’t be friends to all.

An inclusive lobby design should make every visitor feel seen and heard. Whether it's a person with a disability, LGBTQ+, black, indigenous, or people from any underrepresented group. Apart from keeping accessibility for all in mind, the workforce should get over their prejudices about anyone different from them in their verbal and body language interactions. Go over each touchpoint of every visitor and review how will they interact with it. It could be the reception, travel desk, sitting area, coat racks, payment mechanisms, coffee counter, or information items. Can they all be used and accessed by everyone who is in the lobby equitably? And if something is missing and a visitor asks for accommodation, make sure that is met with grace.

To create an inclusive and welcoming hotel lobby, focus on universal design principles. Opt for a neutral color palette, ensuring it's culturally sensitive. Provide comfortable seating with a variety of options, including sofas, chairs, and accessible seating for guests with disabilities. Use diverse artwork and decor that reflects different cultures and avoids exclusivity. Implement clear signage and wayfinding for easy navigation. Train staff to be culturally competent and attentive to diverse needs. Ensure lighting and acoustics are accommodating.

To create an inclusive and welcoming hotel lobby, focus on universal design principles. Opt for a neutral color palette, ensuring it's culturally sensitive. Provide comfortable seating with a variety of options, including sofas, chairs, and accessible seating for guests with disabilities. Use diverse artwork and decor that reflects different cultures and avoids exclusivity. Implement clear signage and wayfinding for easy navigation. Train staff to be culturally competent and attentive to diverse needs. Ensure lighting and acoustics are accommodating.

Most of the brands have their unique color combinations to be used along with the lighting to have consistency in the brand standards of a particular brand. Also, along with the brand standards, we may look at a specifics like destination / theme / location to blend in and showcase more local flavors to the guests. For eg a Luxury wellness resort in Thailand will showcase Thailand specific themes and wellness theme inspirations in their resort color and lighting schemes

A escolha das cores e ilumina??o para um lobby de hotel é crucial, pois influencia diretamente a experiência dos hóspedes. Optar por cores alinhadas à identidade da marca, mas que também promovam conforto e relaxamento, é fundamental. Cores suaves e neutras geralmente funcionam bem, evitando tons muito vibrantes ou perturbadores. Quanto à ilumina??o, a naturalidade, ajustabilidade e quantidade adequada s?o essenciais para criar uma atmosfera acolhedora e funcional. A variedade de ilumina??o, como ambiental, de destaque e de tarefa, pode segmentar o espa?o e criar diferentes sensa??es. Em resumo, a harmonia entre cores e ilumina??o é essencial para proporcionar uma atmosfera convidativa e agradável aos visitantes.

It must be fun. Guests love a welcoming environment. We have had our activities staff in the lobby to welcome guests and discuss what experiences they can enjoy while staying with us. It's a great time to demonstrate and personalize their visit.

As I mentioned earlier as well, detailing of your facility depends on lot of factors, brand standards being the prime one to maintain brand consistency. Also, theme and local factors do play a major role in defining amenities and detailing of public spaces of the property.

Treinar sua equipe é a essência para garantir uma experiência excepcional aos seus convidados. é crucial cultivar um ambiente onde a cortesia, profissionalismo e empatia estejam entrela?ados. Além disso, oferecer suporte para que compreendam e celebrem a diversidade, adaptando-se às necessidades individuais, é fundamental. Capacitar sua equipe n?o apenas para lidar com situa??es diversas, mas também para se comunicar de forma clara e eficaz, é um investimento valioso. Isso n?o só cria um atendimento personalizado, mas também fortalece a habilidade de resolver problemas e lidar com reclama??es de maneira respeitosa e eficiente.

Train staff to approach every guest with empathy and an open mind. Effective communication skills are essential. Comprehensive training programs focused on diversity and inclusion. This training should cover various aspects, Use role-playing and scenario-based exercises to prepare staff for real-world situations. Most importantly Encourage a positive and welcoming attitude among all staff members. This includes greeting guests with warmth, offering assistance proactively, and ensuring that every guest feels valued.

While soliciting feedback is essential, it is important that the feedback reaches decision makers - ones who can facilitate changes. The feedback reporting and collection system should be fool-proof since leakages may happen in manual and even automated processes to tweak satisfaction scores. Senior hoteliers when connecting with guests should use every opportunity to draw deep insights about the service levels based on the conversations. The junior most staff should also follow the escalation process and report the slightest inconvenience reported by a guest since only 1/10 people give feedback and we should leverage it to show we care, ensure retention and justify charging the premium.

Solicitar feedback é essencial para criar ambientes inclusivos e receptivos. Através de pesquisas, avalia??es e intera??es diretas, é possível entender as experiências e expectativas dos hóspedes, permitindo melhorias no servi?o e no design do espa?o. Ouvir atentamente, valorizar as contribui??es e agradecer pelo feedback demonstra um compromisso genuíno em proporcionar uma experiência positiva a todos os visitantes.

Lobby is like ‘heart’ of the hotel which characterizes the product, its layout, subtle interiors and comfortable furniture makes a hotel good to great. Always place the front desk in direct contact with the guests on arrival to make a positive impact. A nice flower arrangement leaves a good impression.

Manter e atualizar um lobby é crucial para oferecer uma experiência convidativa e funcional aos visitantes. A manuten??o regular garante um ambiente seguro e bem cuidado, enquanto as atualiza??es permitem adaptar o espa?o às necessidades atuais, sazonais ou tendências. é essencial verificar danos, limpar constantemente e incorporar mudan?as que melhorem a estética e a funcionalidade do lobby. A combina??o entre manter e atualizar é fundamental para garantir que o espa?o atenda às expectativas dos convidados e permane?a relevante ao longo do tempo.