The evolution of hospitality design

Many hospitality designers and architects in 2025 use the word “intention” to explain the way they address their hotel and resort clients’ specific demands. While they will respond to current furniture, fixture and color trends, they make careful choices that positively reflect the client’s brand and guest expectations while finding a perfect balance between form, function, and guest contentment. 

Like design trends themselves, intention changes over time based on how a hotel or resort evolves to meet their target guests. In the past decade, hotel designers and management had to broaden the definition of good design, not only making guests comfortable but including employees in the equation. For everyone inside the hotel, the décor speaks a language that connects staff to guests, provides a sense of place and communicates values such as sustainability and conscientious service. 

In the past decade, trends have trickled up as well as down with budget-minded customers wanting more from their hotel experiences and upmarket consumers finding “authenticity” that has transcended independently owned boutique properties, into large branded five-star properties, mid-range business hotels, and extended-stay properties.  

“Guests don’t experience a hotel as separate spaces,” said Steve Smith, co-founder and CEO of Lawrence Group, who was part of the design of the Angad Arts Hotel St. Louis, Tapestry Collection by Hilton—the only hotel in the world where you can book a room based on the emotion of color. “They move fluidly from lobby to restaurant to guestroom to rooftop, and they expect a consistent narrative to carry through. That doesn’t mean every space should look identical...it means each zone should express its own character while clearly belonging to the same story. When the design language is cohesive, it reinforces brand identity, elevates the guest experience, and makes the property feel intentional rather than pieced together.” 

“There's been an emphasis on bringing residential design into hospitality spaces,” said Ashley Justman, who co-founded Los Angeles-based Avenue Interior Design with Andrea DeRosa. Under their direction, the firm built its reputation on integrating small details and larger trends to create distinctive identities for such clients as Station Casinos, MGM Resorts International, Montage, Hilton, sbe, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants and Marriott International.  

“It’s an overall design narrative that feels intentionally conceived and meaningful,” DeRosa said. Think luxury light fixtures with dimming features for ambient and task specific illumination, spa-inspired bathrooms with walk-in showers and upgraded fixtures. While select-service properties had less visual/brand identity than luxury properties, as travelers of all demographics have become savvier and well-traveled, the demand for individuality has grown.” 

Shifting Out of Neutral 

Several designers noticed that stark whites and grays have given way toward warmth in the palettes of complex neutral—like clay, oat, olive and deep blues—in the past decade. Furniture has moved away from statement-making to residential with rounded silhouettes, textured bouclé and linen fabrics, and layered combinations of wood and metal. 

“Innovation from our hospitality vendors allowed us to replicate natural finishes that would not be suitable for high-traffic use with increasingly convincing alternatives that will stand the test of time,” said AID’s Justman. “We're seeing this in architectural finishes and materials as well. It's allowed us to further delineate our designs for each property we work with and, ultimately, enhancing the guest experience.” 

“We’ve course-corrected by embracing color and character,” details Broadaway, director of sales and marketing at The Goodtime Hotel in Miami, conceptualized by designer Ken Fulk. “Spaces now tell a story and embrace adaptability and function, while still maintaining the aesthetic appeal. Guests may dine at the restaurant or unwind at the pool without ever checking in for the night, so the overall aesthetic needs to be woven into each touchpoint to create a consistent story, no matter where they find themselves on property. Bold, expressive palettes with pastels and tropical tones are in. Furniture is more eclectic, blending vintage elements with modern materials. There’s also a huge focus on local sourcing: Miami-inspired art, retro poolside vibes.” 

Business hotels are also moving away from their flagship’s stringent adherence to brand identity. This form of minimalism is being replaced with experiential elements associated with more upscale lodging to attract conference business. Mike Frohnapple, director of hospitality & entertainment design for Baker Barrios Architects, said his business hotel clients are renovating their ballrooms and other public areas to make the category lean toward bleisure, especially with the post-COVID uptick of conferences and event attendance. The firm’s soon-to-open VAI (the largest resort in Arizona when complete) and Westcourt in Orlando embody these changes. The rise of the SED (sports and entertainment district) has also contributed to the shift in how public spaces are conceived.  

Vincent Celano, founder and president of New York-based hospitality design firm Celano Design Studio, said that anything related to food and beverage, especially the bar and all other areas that can be activated by food and beverage, is an investment with a great return on investment if done correctly.  

“It helps maintain brand identity by integrating food and beverage, embracing and creating on-brand individuality and personality,” he said. “It’s crucial that the marketing team working with [operations] and the F&B team collaborate to create guest experiences for each space that leads to curated experiences that are seamless, approachable, and transformative within the existing spaces.” 

Celano noted that forced color schemes that are trendy now can end up “a time capsule-like look” later. Instead, he advised playing with colors, textures and patterns that are now achievable on various materials, giving design firms and clients more options.  

Furniture is also crucial to supporting the design narrative, especially as custom furnishings are now more affordable. Furthermore, the notion from a few years ago that technology should be the center of the design experience is being corrected through intelligent integration, “hiding things in a well-designed and easy-to-access manner.” 

“As design can make a big first impression for guests, it must tell the location’s story and tie the individual hotel to its surrounding community,” said Carolina De Paoli, director of hotel asset management at PMG, which manages The Elser Hotel. “Guestrooms are more focused on the individual, offering a design focused on tasteful seclusion and relaxation. Some trends we see integrate food-and-beverage operations within overall design aesthetic. Varied lighting and sound systems define the mood of intentionally zoned spaces, and emphasizing greenery in the design has also become common throughout all types of hotels, particularly to symbolize wellness as that is a growing interest from guests regardless of the destination.”  

Talking ‘Bout Their Generations 

While millennials were credited with pushing hotel design into a more experiential territory a decade ago, today’s spaces are more inclusive by design. Broadaway said marketing and design are now more inclusive with accessibility, tech fluency and comfort to all age groups. Smith agreed that while millennials left an imprint on hotel design with the implementation of social spaces, flexibility, and a more informal and lifestyle-driven aesthetic, the way designers approach those ideas  now has matured.  

“The focus now is on balance, designing spaces that feel approachable and activated for younger travelers while delivering comfort, clarity, and a sense of ease for older guests,” he said. “Layouts are more intuitive, materials are more durable, and aesthetics are more layered so the environment appeals across generations without feeling like it’s chasing one demographic.” 

The Elser Hotel’s design, developed by Cotofana Designs, also offers mature millennial travelers accessible luxury.  

Now that many millennials are parents and executives whose taste may have been shaped in part by the global pandemic, commercial interior designer Dan Mazzarini (who founded furniture firm Archive by Dan Mazzarini) said their tastes have prompted a paradigm shift in how hotels can be marketed through their design.  

“Hotels should continue to cater to the bleisure traveler, someone who travels for business but stays for leisure,” Mazzarini said. “With the opportunity to work remotely stronger than ever, designers have shifted toward creating spaces that enhance quality of life, with elements including functional backdrops for video calls, enriching the overall experience for these types of guests.” 

Adaptions that reach across generations include a focus on wellness (including hotel fitness centers consuming more real estate and design attention), pet-friendliness and remote work, according to De Paoli. Beyond the functionality of electronic room appointments, LVT flooring has become more popular in guestrooms, which is both easier on housekeepers as well as more durable for dogs. Remote work has also led to functional desk space in public areas, inspired by the co-working model.  

However, for it to work, it all needs to tie together. 

“Each space should be a riff on a common theme,” she said. “Having a consistent theme throughout the property is key to building a story and sense of place within your hotel’s brand. Each space within the hotel can have some quirks to show off different aspects of the story. The key is to play off this theme in a way that is additive without diluting the brand.” 

“Appealing to multigenerational travelers is especially important for the luxury segment, as data shows that the largest population of luxury travelers are high net worth individuals between 40 and 60 years old who tend to bring their children, many of whom are teens,” Miriam Torres, principal at Parker Torres, added. “With many of our luxury clients, we’re creating separate club spaces providing the exceptional service the parents are seeking with an area that creates a memorable experience for the children or teens. We’re also seeing well-appointed pool- or beach-side cabanas that cater to the whole family, with ample comfortable seating, big-screen TVs, food and beverage storage and private restrooms.” 

Inner Space Exploration 

“Guests move through a property as a single journey, not as separate departments,” DeRosa said. “Today's lobbies shift seamlessly between café, coworking, lounge and event/pop-up space with subtle architectural and design cues guiding guests throughout. Equally important are the details that support everyday expectations for comfort and convivence: reliable power access, controlled acoustics and elements of micro-privacy such as high-back seating, planters, or decorative screens. Cohesion also simplifies operations, maintenance, and storytelling.” 

In smaller boutique properties, like Le Petit Pali in Laguna Beach, Calif., existing assets must work within parameters that simply do not allow for open plans. In these instances, De Rosa said small spaces should be conceptually driven and have unique functions. “There is an element of mystery to this type of floor plan rather than having everything out in the open and on display at first glance and is likely to keep guests on property for a longer duration and generate more revenue,” she said.  

No matter what trends are dominating in hospitality, designing for longevity is key. Mazzarini believes that taking a classic approach will always yield spaces that endure beyond fleeting social media trends. “Where possible, we take an adaptive-reuse approach to curb the impact of waste. Whether it be upholstery, millwork or inherited architecture, we start by identifying what we can repurpose. Designing with longevity in mind, specifically tied to anticipating future renovations, is generally a smart move for designers [and] ensures that a space stays relevant over time.” 

With sustainability influencing guest decisions in today’s market, Smith insists hotels are moving past one-size-fits-all green checklists and instead embedding it into the property’s identity of place. “Instead of generic art packages, we’re seeing regionally sourced materials, custom textiles and work by local artists that give each property its own identity,” he said. “It’s about immersing guests in the culture and character of the destination. While each area has unique differentiators, there is always a thread that ties the narrative vision together.” 

Torres, meanwhile, said that although sustainability is important from a social-responsibility standpoint, it can also be a wonderful storytelling tool for designing a hotel. She points to her firm’s work at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Hawaii as an example. It incorporates locally sourced monkeypod wood from Hawaiian monkeypod trees, which significantly lowered the carbon footprint for sourcing materials while also creating an authentically Hawaiian experience.  

Avenue Interior Design’s clients are increasingly in tune with a sustainable mindset, and they are often opting to retain existing architectural elements or furnishings where it makes sense rather than taking everything down to the studs and starting over. DeRosa cites trailblazers like 1 Hotels and The Equinox Hotel in New York as perhaps the most impressively holistic example, with guestrooms designed as “immersive sleep sanctuaries,” through soundproof finishes, toxin-free bedding and quiet HVAC systems for precise climate control. 

Their Happy Place  

“Employee satisfaction has become a design priority in a way it simply wasn’t a decade ago,” Smith said. “Back-of-house spaces were often an afterthought that resulted in cramped break rooms, inefficient service routes, and poor lighting. Today, operators recognize that a positive employee experience translates directly into better guest service and higher retention. The well-being of employees is integral to the guest experience.” 

Because the labor shortage in the hospitality industry is widespread, Frohnapple encourages owners and operators to find ways to boost employee satisfaction and retention. His firm has been involved in building workforce housing for staff at large resorts. The endeavor has had a positive impact on those clients’ ability to not just attract but retain a long-term team that can raise the bar for the guest experience, since they, as staff, are being taken care of. 

“Employees should be regarded as brand ambassadors,” insists Celano. “Ensuring that employees are fully aligned with the brand identity is crucial, as it also provides them with a sense of purpose, which is essential for job fulfillment. Broadaway agrees that a happy team creates a happy guest experience, and intuitive layouts that create flexibility and reduce friction achieve staff spaces are just as thoughtfully designed as the guest areas. “From the front of house to the back of house, spaces should energize the people in it,” she said. “When employee satisfaction is considered, it has a direct impact on service quality and retention.” 

“Employee satisfaction is of paramount importance, and every space we design has maintenance in mind,” said DeRosa, who is dedicated to making spaces as appealing for employees as they are for guests. “Whenever possible, we do what we can to ensure that materials and finishes do not have special cleaning parameters, carpet color palettes have longevity, and wall finishes are cleanable or easy to touch up. For food and beverage venues, we consider circulation, paths of travel, and well-placed server stations that are highly functional. If employees are unhappy, the service undoubtedly suffers.” 

Whether through enhanced lounge spaces, resiliency areas and changing rooms, spaces are now not only designed for guests but also for support staff, which itself underscores the importance of great service in creating and maintaining the overall experience, according to De Paoli. For example, administrative offices, once confined to basements, are now well above ground, many with natural light and an expanded employee cafeteria. 

There is a consensus that cohesiveness and the human touch are the best way a property can communicate its brand and lifestyle beyond the building. “The industry has shifted from designing for a moment to designing for meaning.” Smith said, pointing out design decisions that didn’t age well, such as overly stark minimalism, cookie-cutter “boutique” looks and gimmicky décor left spaces cold, dated, or disconnected from place. The biggest correction has been the return to authenticity and longevity through richer palettes, layered materials, locally sourced elements, and furnishings that balance function and character.” 

“From an ownership perspective, active participation and support in creating the brand identity are crucial,” Celano said. “Building a team to support this strategy is also essential. If you have a strong brand identity for these different spaces, you may not need to do more. You can let the brand lead, as the team has all the tools needed to maintain the flow and make it authentic and organic. Invest in people, as they have direct connectivity with guests and are influential in the guest experience and satisfaction. Ensure that they are fully aligned with the brand identity for each area.”