Does experiential architecture add to hospitality’s bottom line?
Figuring out what the essence of a hotel is, what the experience is and improving that is what Lucy Rainey of Luca Architecture gets a kick out of.
She and her business partner Catherine Crowe have worked with Kelly’s Resort on Rosslare Strand, Co. Wexford, for the last five years.
“We visited hotels in London as research and then created a walk-through video of the spaces, having gleaned feedback from suggested plans, layouts and flows of restaurants, with staff.
“All levels of feedback were then factored into any reworkings, edited according to what wait staff, kitchen staff and others feedback was.”
Design and good architecture is central to how people move and behave in a hotel, says Laura Kelly, manager at Kelly’s Resort.
“It helps conjure up a feeling that makes guests want to return. It helps build loyalty and enhances the guest’s experience. If people feel good in a space, they’ll spend more time there, buy another drink and come back. It contributes to the bottom line.”
Laura is among the fifth-generation members of the Kelly family who work in the business. Her father Billis the MD.
Kelly’s Resort’s art collection was built by earlier generations of the family. It benefited from a 1960s Arts Council scheme for hanging the work of Irish artists in places where they could be seen by more than a narrow circle of art lovers.
These works help give the hotel its personality. Under Luca’s eye for detail, ideas and colour schemes from the resort’s art collection have been woven into its soft furnishings.
The carpets, for example, are custom weaves by Ulster Carpets.
The rugs are by Ceadogan, Kelly’s nearby neighbours, and a range of trays feature the work of the late William Crozier, which can already be seen on the menu covers and wine labels. The team worked with Crozier’s wife, Katharine.
In tandem with the renovations and rejuvenations, decisions were also taken about Kelly’s business model. They switched from offering full board to half board, dispensing with a lunch buffet that resulted in food and financial waste.
The addition of the Sea Rooms — a glass wall, pavilion-style space constructed between the hotel and the beach with a sedum roof and a Shou Sugi Ban treaded timber-clad exterior — catapults the resort into the 21st century.
A cross between an upmarket beach bar and a restaurant, it now means the property can offer guests three different places to eat lunch and two dinner locations.
The hotel has 120 rooms and two additional houses, one with five bedrooms, the other with four. The look and feel of the space contribute to the property’s high occupancy rate, averaging over 90 per cent per annum. Last year, the rate was 94 per cent.
“We’re very successful with repeat customers, which account for 80 per cent of the business. The architecture and design plays into the overall offer,” says Kelly.
The property closes for two months every year for a glow-up. Last winter the company invested €2.5 million in renovating 22 of its bedrooms, the last tranche to be refurbished. It takes three to four years to upgrade them all and this is a process that will begin almost immediately.
The works also included an overhaul of Kelly’s Aqua Club, which has two swimming pools, a sauna, a steam room and an outdoor hot tub.
Ten years ago they redid all the kitchens, work that guests do not see. This has formed part of over €12m invested back into the business during that period.
“We want to do more hospitality. It’s what we enjoy,” Rainey says.
O’Donnell O’Neill Design (OODA) has worked on all of the Dean Hotel Group, with new properties opening on mainland Europe this summer.
Their projects have included The Leinster Hotel on Dublin’s Mount Street Lower, The Mayson Hotel on North Wall Quay, Sophie’s and Layla’s rooftop restaurants in Galway, Cork and Dublin, and the Stella Cinema in Rathmines, recently ranked as the world’s second-best cinema by Time Out.
An awful lot of restaurateurs and hoteliers understand that experience is extremely important, says Ann-Marie O’Neill, OODA’s founder and creative director.
“It’s part of why a restaurant is successful. They get it. It does matter. It’s a feeling, something intangible, but [it] includes heat, lights, sound and an ambiance where you are present and able to look the other guests in the eye and engage.”
Phone-free zones are on the rise.
“It frees you to get involved in the theatre of the experience. Being present, being real and taking part, being interested in what the people around you have to say,” O’Neill explains.
In hotels every detail is scrutinised, from the water glass on the table to how the salt and pepper feel in your hand. O’Neill says it should all feel seamless.
She favours deep-pile carpet with a thick underlay that feels luxurious underfoot, soft fabrics on chairs and an easy-to-use lighting system.
It’s a balance between aesthetic and function, a good experience that you may not be conscious of, like putting your phone down on the bedside table and having it charged for you. This means you no longer have to pack chargers or cables, yet if you do then the socket and light switches are in the right place.
Showers in bathrooms have become more sophisticated, but there’s a balance between being artistic and being customer-conscious.
It should be simple to understand and feel like a superior product, says Aisling Healy, a director at OODA. “You don’t feel intimidated. This is true hospitality.”
The firm has just redesigned 32 suites at Mount Juliet’s main property, the Manor House. They reduced the room count by one to include a two-room suite that can become a two-bedroom unit, targeted at US visitors.
A restaurant might look good, but what’s important is how the chairs hug you. The back has to be angled and the seat height to table measurement is also vital. This will deliver a more satisfying experience to the diner or resident.
The Daata group of restaurants is headed by MD Waseem Saeed and his wife Rahat, who is group head chef and a director of the company. With wider members of the family, they now employ 220 people and have five restaurants that can seat 630 across their operations in Bray, Glasthule, Blackrock, Sandymount and the newly opened South Great George’s Street.
“We now have to compete on the experience, not just the food,” Saeed says. The restaurants, which serve Pakistani and Indian cuisine, are more than just a destination. Their design is part of the business model that started with Daata’s Greystones location.
“Good architecture and design help create the atmosphere. It’s half the story already told. And it increases the time people spend in the restaurants by 15 to 20 per cent. The more time they stay, the more they spend. A group of 10 who stay an additional hour might have two more drinks [each]. That’s 20 more drinks, that’s how we look at it.”
Bollywood and Lollywood posters hang on the walls, with open-weave light pendants set flatteringly low and salvaged pieces of old Pakistan from Jali doors to pieces of furniture. The bar looks like an old, old library, while the brick walls remind Saeed of family get-togethers at the luxe Serena Hotel in Islamabad. “It’s a mix of contemporary and heritage pieces, much like our own home.”
Daata’s secret ingredients are the lighting and the music, he says. That, coupled with generous portions and good prices.
Costs generally are so high that the budgets of restaurant clients are being pared back, Lucy Rainey says. Luca Architecture’s eateries include the home-grown burger chain Bunsen, which now has 11 outlets, nine of which her company worked on either as a new build or a refurbishment. At Bunsen it’s about putting hardware and products together that can take the volume of the business, Rainey explains. “It has to feel warm but be robust. That means real leather, for example, which wears better than faux leather. The booths are upholstered in it.”
The reasons why hospitality clients get in touch can vary. Sometimes it’s about rebranding — you might want to attract a different clientele. Other times the property is tired and needs a refresh.
Lucy Rainey and Catherine Crowe.
“We try to advise where to spend more,” says Marie Smyckova, another director at OODA.
“Lighting and a lighting system is one area you can no longer do without. Being able to dim the lights down as a hotel goes from daylight to evening to night is crucial. Dimming has a huge impact on ceiling and wall lights but if it is done manually by the duty manager every day and evening it will not be consistent. Even the clients who don’t invest have to go back and do it afterwards.”
You also look at the demographic, adds Healy. If the target market is 20-year-olds, then the seats can be harder. If it’s designed for elderly people, then the seating levels should not be too low, nor the cushions too soft.
It’s all about creating a convivial atmosphere. Why do people pay more to see a movie at the Stella Cinema than in the Omniplex down the road, O’Neill asks.
“Because it is an enjoyable experience. It feels like a night out.”
Alanna Gallagher is the editor of property website homeandstyle.ie
Photo: Bar area in Kelly’s Resort
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