Guest Experience: Fusion of Hospitality and Brand Connection through Design

For a customer experience consultant who designs guest experience, and a lover of the customer experience discipline, visiting a new-to-me hotel can go one of two ways. Sometimes, I am struck by CX Fails that disrupt my experience. Other times, I am amazed by the power of intentional design. Especially since I understand all the complexities that go into creating simplicity, extending hospitality, and delivering a holistic, engaging brand experience. This was my guest experience at the Virgin Hotel New Orleans.

From public lounge spaces to elevator waiting areas, to guest rooms, the property leveraged every opportunity possible to create brand connection and infuse hospitality through even the smallest design details. I’m sharing some of the standout examples to help bring to life theoretical conversations about customer-centric design. And to highlight how valuable the CX perspective is early in the design process to build spaces that promote customer happiness and drive guest loyalty.

A Room that Prioritizes Guest Experience Reflects Award-Winning Brand Ethos

In a word, the guest rooms had details that were genius! This beautiful, easy-to-use charging alcove that integrates with the room design captures that genius. The alcove, built into the wall, elevates a must-have feature to an engaging experience. And the designers did not stop there. The alcove can close back into the wall, creating a seamless line of sight. So, a guest can charge a device, and truly unplug. No looking at wires while enjoying a drink or a moment of peace and quiet.

The design is as intuitive as it is simple. But how often do you see design consideration like this? And for a relatively accessible price point? This is where the brand ethos–design connection shines through. The Virgin brand states its purpose unequivocally: “the fundamental reason our business exists – is Changing Business for Good.” In the context of such purpose, this discreet interior design detail becomes a reflection of the brand’s reason for being. Guest experience designers, architects, and builders collaborated to make changes to the norm for the good of the guest. And ultimately, for the good of the business. It’s no surprise Virgin Hotel New Orleans won the Condé Nast Award for Best Hotel in New Orleans 2024.

In fact, Virgin hotel properties amassed ten Best Hotel rankings around the world, earned #1 Cruise in the large ship category two years in a row, and was voted #7 Best Airline in the world in the 2024 Condé Nast Traveler Awards. The ROI on loyalty and brand recognition again underscores our position that customer experience is more than a “nice to have.” It is a growth driver for brands across industries. No wonder Virgin Atlantic Ltd posted a “record total revenue of ￡3.1 billion, up ￡265 million versus 2022” in the year ending December 31, 2023.

Brand Moments Create a Sense of Place

For a guest, part of feeling comfortable in a space means feeling oriented in the overall brand experience of that space. This is particularly true for guests at hotels that have recognizable, desirable brands like Virgin. Pops of the brand’s signature red throughout shared and personal space drive brand connection and a sense of place. In the room, that comes in the form of the mini-fridge in the kitchen area, and even the Virgin red shower head and handles in the bathroom.

For branding to communicate effectively enough to create a connection, it must be comprehensive – present overtly, implicitly, and meaningfully, across all phases of guest experience. As the designer, that means you question every element, asking, “can this be branded?” Do that until you get to “no.” Remember, branding is a form of communication, so it needs to be clear and meaningful, aligned to your brand ethos. Avoid overbranding that can create visual noise, or compete for attention with the overall experience.

The Virgin Hotel New Orleans strikes this balance masterfully. Experience designers expertly applied the CX discipline to ensure they did not miss any opportunities for branding. The experience feels holistic, comfortable, and engaging, because the care with which every element was chosen comes through to the guest.

Creating branded experiences means telling brand stories and building connections. In the case of another guest room detail, hotel experience designers took brand storytelling literally, by including Rickard Branson’s book that tells his brand’s origin story, Finding My Virginity, on the coffee table.

Leveraging Interior Design for Guest Experience

So many details of this room resonated with my love for the customer experience discipline. I immediately thought of all the things I wanted to share in an article, because something as seemingly simple as a lighting panel (more on that, below) encapsulates an intentional, unyielding commitment to guest experience. And it underscores the value of thinking through every element of a guest’s experience as early as possible in the design phase.

A Towel Bar Teaches a Lesson

The bar to hang towels, located cleanly below the sink maximizes space and utility and does not obstruct movement as much as it contributes to the aesthetic experience. This is utility embedded in design. It is seamless. And whether overtly or not, the guest recognizes the calm, ease, and beauty it creates. All of that contributes to an experience that puts the guest at the center and celebrates the guest while serving their needs.

A similar space across the room maximizes another makeup vanity that doubles as a writing desk. The lights can turn on and off and create guest-controlled moods, with a variety of offerings to set the tone the guest prefers. It is another nod to New Orleans, too, with its combination of old-world charm and modern capabilities.

Curtains on either side of the bathroom vanity create personalized, usable space by separating clothing storage for each guest. The soft fabric that diffuses light contributes to the overall feeling of warmth, while the functionality underscores ease and personalization. A guest feels especially cared for when they have their own space, even in a shared room.

More than Mood Lighting – An Empowering Experience Moment

Lighting zones help the guest create personalized experiences. They promote energy efficiency, and offer a privacy setting. They also meet basic needs that create moments of ease. One guest can sleep while another reads.

When you install a light like this, it becomes a transitional moment for your guest. Localized lighting becomes a micro-experience. Micro-experiences like this are critical in cementing memories and positive feelings for guests about their overall experience and your brand.

The Effort Paradox

In addition to serving as a prime example of a micro-experience. The lighting panel calls up another consideration within the customer experience discipline, the Effort Paradox. Taken from psychology, the Effort Paradox suggests people “associate effort with reward and will sometimes select objects or activities precisely because they require effort.” In the space of customer experience, this can seem at odds with the objective to build seamless or frictionless experiences. The implication is a frictionless experience is valuable because it requires as little effort as possible on the part of the customer. In fact, inviting a customer to engage in a moment of effort – a moment of choice around personalization – engages that customer. It gives them control and strengthens the connection between the experience and the individual.

This panel is a prime example of the Effort Paradox because it invites the guest to do something more, to make decisions, and set the tone of the room. Rather than burdening the guest, this effort empowers the guest to contribute to creating his/her own desired experience, moment to moment. It also enables the guest to communicate easily with hospitality staff, with the option to turn on the Privacy Light, which opts out of room cleaning service.

You will remember my previous note about experience designers getting involved as early as possible in the creation of the space. The level of lighting segmentation that this panel controls means that the lighting engineer and the experience designed worked together at the start of the design phase of this building project. It means that lighting professionals were involved long before the walls were even built. That is intentional design that puts the guest at the center of the experience.

Holistic Hotel Experience Celebrates the City and Her Guests

Notably, the personalization and brand storytelling don’t stop at the guest room. The entire hotel boasts moments of intentional design that inspire curiosity, fun, and celebration. Emotions synonymous not only with the Virgin brand, but with the city of New Orleans. A small coffee shop area in the hotel is out of this world with artistic details that integrate the brand ethos with the New Orleans spirit, inviting guests to stay in the space, engage with it, and discover more with every moment spent in the space.

Lamp shades sport the Virgin red. There are artistic representations of Richard Branson throughout the space, designed in a way that feels like you are getting to know him and share time in a space he curated for you. It feels personal, intimate, like you are making a lifelong friend through shared experiences. Touches like biophilic design throughout the space further the feelings of beauty and vitality. You truly begin to feel like you are a treasured guest in a special part of the world.

Maximum Enjoyment

Generally, we associate biophilic design with contemporary spaces that lean toward the minimalist. In this case, the space is gloriously maximalist. And intentionally on-brand. How and why does maximalism work in this space? For starters, it aligns with a brand identity that celebrates excess and enjoyment. An identity shared with the city itself. It also works because it is not maximalism for its own sake. Rather, it is curated. Meticulously. Even though the space is packed visually, every item feels like it is placed intentionally, presented to guests for their enjoyment.

Certainly, this aesthetic doesn’t work for every hotel, every customer, or every city. But it screams the Virgin brand and it celebrates the New Orleans experience. You know what it is, where you are, what to expect. And, importantly, you are invited to enjoy everything on offer. That brings us back to design as a mode of infusing guest experience with hospitality. Note how well-placed this form of Virgin brand communication is in its environment. Yes, New Orleans is known for excess, celebration, and entertainment. But it is also a city of the American South. That means it is steeped in a tradition of hospitality. As such, multiple design decisions reflect warmth, coziness, and welcome.

Exceptional Guest Experience Means Introducing Design Where Others Ignore It

How many designers prioritize elevator waiting areas as opportunities for Wow Moments and brand connection? As a frequent traveler, I can tell you, not many. Often, the design of waiting experiences in hotels and other spaces, is lacking, subject to a one-and-done approach. In the Virgin Hotel New Orleans, not only do we see a commitment to creating a guest friendly waiting experience, we see a commitment to producing multiple personalized waiting experiences.

On every floor, designers created unique elevator waiting area spaces. They are hallmarks of personalization and as a result, they create unique experiences. This a standout example of how guest experience designers and interior designers capture every opportunity to engage, despite cost. Note that each floor has unique furniture, carpet, art, light fixtures. All of this is unique and curated. That means no bulk discount. And no quick installation. Like the lighting panel, these are micro experiences that contribute to an overall exceptional guest experience.

But why go through that extra time, effort and expense? Because it enables the brand to connect with guests. It is an intelligent expression of surprise and delight. A Wow Moment that exceeds guest expectations by turning the mundane (and sometimes frustrating) touchpoint of waiting into a moment of truth. Moments of truth, discussed powerfully in Chip and Dan Heath’s book, The Power of Moments, are key moments along the customer journey in which the customer develops a lasting impression about a brand. These are the moments your guests talk about. They are the reason they go home and recommend your brand to friends, family, and colleagues. Moments of truth drive loyalty.

Joyful Wayfinding

The Virgin Hotel New Orleans has a keen sense of the customer journey. And they optimize it for continued moments of connection. Customized directional icon. The gold restroom and directional icons are whimsical, matching the brand ethos, and creating moments of joy for guests. This is a simple touch, but its intentionality shines through.

Consider the experience of someone who sees a whimsical, branded icon like this along their journey. No matter the state they are in when they encounter it, it makes the guest feel joyful. It generates an almost childlike response. It’s not going too far to say this touch of whimsy destigmatizes the bathroom and makes it fun again. Think about the tone that helps to set for the overall experience, and the ways in which it communicates brand to a guest. All thanks to a well thought-out, beautifully designed icon.

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Clever Naming

Similarly, the whimsy extends to the naming of spaces. Again, it is important to recognize that there is no detail too small to infuse hospitality – and brand – in the design of space. Take, for example, the closet, that is labeled “Stuff.” It is a nod to the not-so-serious. Another pop of joy in the journey. And it is cleanly aligned with the whimsy of the Virgin brand and the festive atmosphere of New Orleans.

How to Leverage Design that Infuses Hospitality and Promotes Brand Connection

The Virgin brand is well established and internationally recognized. But smaller brands, new properties, and older brands looking to create more personalized connections with guests all have the power to deliver similar results. It starts with developing a customer-centric mindset, then using that mindset to guide design decisions that prioritize guests early in the process.

Customer experience designers need to collaborate with architects and interior designers, maximizing the impact of the creativity, disciplinary expertise, and innovative perspectives each of those players brings to the table. For more on how to put kind of collaboration into practice, reach out to us.

?This article originally appeared on The Petrova Experience Blog.

*All photos courtesy of The Petrova Experience.