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Build out your skill set without blowing your budget or over-staffing.
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How much could you add to your bottom line if your firm moved from design-only to full-service design and implementation? How much business could you lose if you don't? Hospitality owners, developers and brands are no longer hiring those with narrow skill sets. Our clients are asking us to create seamless, location-specific concepts and themes that give each property an individual identity.
What sells now is a turnkey skill set that covers all aspects of the interior guest experience: signage, art, sculpture, menu items, cocktails, staff uniforms, lighting, aromas, finishes, furniture and casework design, to name a few. Any firm that can do it all has the inside track to owners' short lists.
As we learned during our recent full-service evolution, making the transition quickly and cost effectively starts with process, not capital expenditures. Before investing in a new office, creating a hiring plan or approaching your lender, look in the mirror: Identify ways you can build out your design process and develop your staff to cover the full-service gap. Here are some lessons we learned along the way:
Lesson 1: Make the market your inspiration.
To convince clients that your firm can deliver a one-stop solution, you first have to establish how and why your design is the best marketing tool for their target markets. Research all of the intangibles that contribute to the site, such as architecture, performing arts, fine arts, music, political and social history and environment. Use that information to brainstorm concepts with the client in informal sessions where anything goes. Give the client a sample of what guests will experience by using a multi-media presentation with moving images, art, music and fashion that describes your concept and design direction.
Lesson 2: Integrate design with operations for a seamless experience.
For the DoubleTree Hotel in Bethesda, Md., for example, the proximity of the National Institute of Health's state-of-the-art research facilities suggested a Zen-like wellness concept. The hotel's image had to be flexible enough to appeal to doctors and researchers, as well as patients arriving for experimental treatments - whether alone or accompanied by family and friends. While the environment had to be calming, comfortable and upbeat for guest patients, it also had to have multimedia capabilities for meetings and conferences to serve the medical and research communities.
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