New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 34/02C | Page 95

much time do you spend looking at the architecture
as opposed to looking at photographs of the room.
And after your stay, you may not be able to describe
the architecture in detail, but I guarantee you’ll be
able to pick up on all the things in the room that
were wrong.
Business v leisure
I’ve been saying for a long time that business
and leisure are merging. And these days with
devices and the way we live our lives, they are get-
ting even closer.
I’ll stay at a resort but I travel with my iPad and
I’ll sit by the pool and – if I’m allowed to – I’ll read
my emails. So providing connectivity and integrat-
ing technology in a seamless way has been one of
the key challenges for design for the past 15 years.
Then, for example, you don’t necessarily need a
desk in a room any more. You might have a dining
table that doubles as a desk. That’s nicer – if you’re
travelling together as couple, you might want to
dine together in the room.
And is a business centre required? They’re
typically non-revenue generating – so should you
give that space to something that’s more revenue
generating? Because people can now do business
just sitting in the lobby.
Which comes back to the premise of M Social
– people multi-use the public spaces like the F&B
areas. They don’t just dine there. Those spaces are
merging to become combined functional spaces.
A sense of place
The familiarity you want when you stay at a hotel
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