This book takes architects and designers on a worldwide journey to discover the most stylish and appealing spots, from an urban getaway in Europe to a resort on a South Pacific island, providing a serene ...
As belts tighten across the industry, cast an eye toward mid-sized companies with capital to invest. Lane Hospitality, for one, has plenty of work … for the right designers.
By Mary Scoviak
Over the next 12 to 24 months, hospitality designers are more likely to find work coming from Main Street than Wall Street. Among the top prospects for 2009 will be owners/third-party managers like Northbrook, Ill.-based Lane Hospitality. While buyers work out plans for righting the hotel sector's former investment powerhouses such as Lehman Brothers, Lane and other mid-sized players will still be writing checks for design jobs in three- and four-star properties.
"We're in more challenging times operationally, so we'll limit our bets. But we do have capital to deploy, and we're looking to invest $6- to $10 million next year," says Bill DeForrest, Lane's president and ceo. Designers who want to add those projects to their portfolios should be thinking about how to position Lane's go-to brands such as Hilton, Marriott, InterContinental Hotels Group and Choice Hotels in secondary markets across the country.
Presentations to Lane's decision makers have to show that a concept combines specific market knowledge with an in-depth understanding of the designated hotel flag's standards. The goal, says DeForrest, is to merge them into "a unique deliverable."
"One of our mandates is that the look of the hotel has to be relevant in its market and to its demographic," he says. "We don't want a clone of a vision that worked someplace else."
Beyond that, DeForrest gets excited by the drill-down. Short-list firms have to be ready to address questions such as how they'll deliver the right program; how their choice of color, furniture, fixtures, equipment (FF&E), lighting and other elements reflects their understanding of the project and Lane's goals; how the image they create will enhance the project's position in the community and engage guests; and how they'll make all that happen within the budget.
DeForrest expects flexibility, but at the same time, he recognizes that this doesn't give him an automatic right to demand the world for a bargain price. As such, he does his best to avoid making arbitrary demands that might ruin the aesthetic character of the hotel. "It's one thing to say, ‘I like this look but I can't afford it. What can you do?' " he explains. "It's another to say, ‘I like it, but here are five things you have to change.'"
There's less elasticity when it comes to costs. "Designers can't lose sight of the fact that they're working with other people's money," says DeForrest. "Anyone who comes in over budget gets sent back to the spec sheets to find another solution."