From Vision to Reality: The Benefits of Aligning Design with Your Hospitality Company’s Mission 

If you’re looking to make a lasting impact in the hospitality sector, what do you think makes the most difference? Is it your amenities? Perhaps what kind of breakfast you offer to your guests? Of course not! It all comes down to one factor, and one factor alone: how well your design aligns with your company mission. If you choose to align your design with your company’s mission, you’ll not only distinguish yourself, but you’ll have a lasting impact on the industry!

We’ll discuss the importance of the CEO’s leadership in hospitality and how it can drive your success and impact. Furthermore, we’ll also look at the strategic importance of design in hospitality and how it can boost your brand identity, help with customer experience enhancement for all guests, and foster operational cohesion. Let’s start with understanding where and what role your CEO plays in design decisions.

The CEO’s Role in Design Decisions: Driving Company Success

You know that your leadership is vital to the success of your business. After all, if you have a disengaged CEO or are leading your team astray, you notice! When it comes to design, your CEO’s involvement in hospitality interior design is just as significant as any other area of your operations. You might think that having the CEO’s thoughts on what colour scheme is best for your lobby or how to design your hotel rooms is an ancillary concern, but it’s not. 

When you involve your CEO in the design choices of your company, you’re not just getting a second opinion. You’re asking the leader of your company—someone who intimately knows about your brand’s mission, vision, and values—what they feel would be best. That way, when you allow their thoughts to influence your design choices, you’ll ensure your efforts reflect your company values and aspirations.

It's noticeable when leadership takes an active role in the hospitality sector’s architectural projects. You’ll see hotel designs that demonstrate who your brand is, what you value, and more. And you’ll ensure brand cohesion—no matter how many locations you may operate! With the CEO’s role being so integral to your design’s success, let’s explore the best communication strategies to ensure their leadership cultivates change and aligned interior design.

Effective Communication Strategies to Ensure Brand Identity in Your Hotel’s Design

The CEO’s leadership in design decisions is essential, but they also have to communicate these choices to the entire team and your brand’s stakeholders. Unfortunately, as much as you might wish it to be true, you can’t read your CEO’s mind! That’s why they have to be transparent with their communication and share their thoughts on the mission and vision, as well as how this can be articulated into tangible design elements within your hotel’s interior. 

Part of this is finding ways to integrate your brand identity into your internal and external communications. You might be thinking, doesn’t the internal team already know the mission, vision, and values? Truthfully, even internal communications matter because you can encourage your top talent to become silent—or rather vocal—brand ambassadors who embody the tenets of your organisation. 

If your internal and external messages are clear—whether this be through social media posts, internal communications like memos, or even meetings and events—then you’ll have no problem ensuring your brand’s identity gets integrated into your hotel design elements. 

Examples of How Brand Identity Has Aligned with Hotel Design

You can find international chains and small boutiques that have been able to integrate their brand identity into their designs. Just look at Hilton’s Hampton brand, which debuted a new look earlier this year that included new furniture, larger windows for natural light, and private areas separate from the lobby for guests to relax while others check in. They enhanced the customer experience while also reinforcing their brand identity simultaneously! 

As for boutique hotels, just look at The Hoxton, an “open-house” hotel that allows locals to come in, hang out, and make their space a daily stop. Even their employees have remarked on the design being one of the most unique aspects of the brand, showing that they researched the history of each building, spent time refining the flow of the spaces, and ensured that their interior feels less professional and more residential and informal. 

For both these hotels, their CEO leadership saw the need for emphasised branding and stepped up to get the design right, which ultimately paid off!

Practical Tips for CEOs and Brands to Create Compelling Environments

If you want to achieve the same sort of success as The Hoxton and Hilton’s Hampton brand, we’ve got a few tips to help you get started. Whether you’re a CEO or simply eager to influence your brand’s design choices, here’s some advice:

• Balance Operational Needs with Brand Identity: Of course, you need to create a functional space that reflects your brand. Start with functionality and incorporate the brand narrative into your design to make a memorable space for your guests.
• Find Tangible Ways to Infuse Your Company’s Ethos into Interiors: What ways can you tangibly present your vision? Values? Mission? Once you identify tangible solutions that display these aspects of your business, find ways to incorporate them into your interior design for added effect.
• Collaborate with Architects and Designers: For all the leadership reading this, collaboration is a must with architectural projects! Take time to work with your design team to discover the best methods for incorporating your brand identity into your hospitality design. These strategic design choices can align with your company’s future goals and aspirations.