Hotel Management — February 2012
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Design
It’s all about functionality
This year’s bedding trends are all about keeping guestrooms functional, clean and simple.
Mike Suomi, principal at Stonehill & Taylor Architects, said he began noticing these trends in recent projects he has done, such as the Hyatt House concept.
“In terms of the industry in general, we have seen an evolution that started with the Heavenly Bed a long time ago and that evolution is pushing a lot of the decorative colors off the bed completely,” Suomi said. “Guests are looking for a more hygienic feel in the guestrooms, so the industry is moving away from all color.”
The classic solution, Suomi said, is to stick with an all-white bed. By keeping the palette monochromatic, owners can invest more in the elements of the bed that matter most.
“[The guests] want comfy, very comfy,” Suomi said. “The kind of bed you want to fall into. [Hotels are] now spending less money on decoration and more money on luxurious mattresses and pillow tops.”
Suomi said he has noticed the use of texture instead of color for softgoods. He said hotels want to embrace white-on-white textures and patterns that are woven into the fabric itself.
Another trend Suomi said he has observed is adjusting to a slightly lower bed.
“We are starting to see more flexibility with bed height,” Suomi said. “I think there are several reasons for the change and one of them has to do with the ease of getting in and out of bed for people whose mobility isn’t as good.”
Suomi said the elimination of bedspreads is another concept that has been going on for some time. He said the current style is using duvets with removable covers or all-in-one duvets.
“I think [the guests] want a bed they feel is clean,” Suomi said. “That’s a primary driving factor behind some of these trends. Guests want a bed where they feel like they don’t have to push something on the floor using a stick.”
Hotel 71 Chicago upgrades bedding with a focus on comfort
As part of a $20-million renovation, Hotel 71 Chicago redesigned its guestrooms with functionality and comfort in mind, following the trends of a simple, white color palette made luxurious by good linen quality.
The hotel upgraded the bed design of 216 deluxe guestrooms. Changes include reupholstered headboards and new beds, along with linen upgraded to 100-percent cotton, according to Hotel 71 Chicago GM Steve Shern.
“We kept it very clean, very simple and upgraded the quality of the linen because that’s what we felt was more important than the look,” Shern said. “For us it was about making it more residential, rather than less is more.”
Shern said the bedding design includes a white-on-white checked top sheet to give the linens some texture and a neck pillow with a splash of color to break up the white-on-white of the pillows to the sheets, as well as a throw at the foot of the bed to complement the headboard. The hotel also purchased new Sealy pillow-top mattresses for the newly designed rooms.
He said when the designers had the initial conversation about the direction they wanted for bedding, the discussion began with a focus on comfort and functionality first, before adding highlights of color to coordinate the pillow to the rest of the room.
“It comes down to what’s important—for the guests to have comfort and what they have in their own homes rather than try to make it something that they wouldn’t normally see,” Shern said. “At the end of the day, you are coming to the hotel for a good night’s rest. It really is about how good [the bed and bedding] feels and we took that approach.”
This year’s bedding trends are all about keeping guestrooms functional, clean and simple.
Mike Suomi, principal at Stonehill & Taylor Architects, said he began noticing these trends in recent projects he has done, such as the Hyatt House concept.
“In terms of the industry in general, we have seen an evolution that started with the Heavenly Bed a long time ago and that evolution is pushing a lot of the decorative colors off the bed completely,” Suomi said. “Guests are looking for a more hygienic feel in the guestrooms, so the industry is moving away from all color.”
The classic solution, Suomi said, is to stick with an all-white bed. By keeping the palette monochromatic, owners can invest more in the elements of the bed that matter most.
“[The guests] want comfy, very comfy,” Suomi said. “The kind of bed you want to fall into. [Hotels are] now spending less money on decoration and more money on luxurious mattresses and pillow tops.”
Suomi said he has noticed the use of texture instead of color for softgoods. He said hotels want to embrace white-on-white textures and patterns that are woven into the fabric itself.
Another trend Suomi said he has observed is adjusting to a slightly lower bed.
“We are starting to see more flexibility with bed height,” Suomi said. “I think there are several reasons for the change and one of them has to do with the ease of getting in and out of bed for people whose mobility isn’t as good.”
Suomi said the elimination of bedspreads is another concept that has been going on for some time. He said the current style is using duvets with removable covers or all-in-one duvets.
“I think [the guests] want a bed they feel is clean,” Suomi said. “That’s a primary driving factor behind some of these trends. Guests want a bed where they feel like they don’t have to push something on the floor using a stick.”
Hotel 71 Chicago upgrades bedding with a focus on comfort
As part of a $20-million renovation, Hotel 71 Chicago redesigned its guestrooms with functionality and comfort in mind, following the trends of a simple, white color palette made luxurious by good linen quality.
The hotel upgraded the bed design of 216 deluxe guestrooms. Changes include reupholstered headboards and new beds, along with linen upgraded to 100-percent cotton, according to Hotel 71 Chicago GM Steve Shern.
“We kept it very clean, very simple and upgraded the quality of the linen because that’s what we felt was more important than the look,” Shern said. “For us it was about making it more residential, rather than less is more.”
Shern said the bedding design includes a white-on-white checked top sheet to give the linens some texture and a neck pillow with a splash of color to break up the white-on-white of the pillows to the sheets, as well as a throw at the foot of the bed to complement the headboard. The hotel also purchased new Sealy pillow-top mattresses for the newly designed rooms.
He said when the designers had the initial conversation about the direction they wanted for bedding, the discussion began with a focus on comfort and functionality first, before adding highlights of color to coordinate the pillow to the rest of the room.
“It comes down to what’s important—for the guests to have comfort and what they have in their own homes rather than try to make it something that they wouldn’t normally see,” Shern said. “At the end of the day, you are coming to the hotel for a good night’s rest. It really is about how good [the bed and bedding] feels and we took that approach.”
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