Jonny Sin’s VIEWPOINT:

ROOM FOR EVERYBODY

As we stand on the threshold of a post pandemic world, two global influences are aligning to shape human behaviour – our response to the experience of COVID-19 and the increasing significance of Generation Z in how we live, work and play, on our attitudes, our choices and how we consume.

Clearly, the pandemic has disrupted the world and shaken many of our underlying core foundations. At the beginning of the UK-wide lock down, I attended the first of many virtual conferences that have since become a norm and heard one speaker describe the virus as a bomb going off in the international hospitality sector. He was right, and the fallout will last for years. However, I do not think that the fallout is necessarily a bad thing or something to be fearful about, but rather that it will result in an acceleration of certain trends that were emerging before COVID-19, which is where the impending hegemony of Gen Z comes in.

Gen Zers, born approximately between 1995 – 2010, are a generation of ‘digital natives’ who grew up with the internet, social networks and mobile systems; they are globally connected, and their virtual and physical experiences frequently converge. With a variety of worlds at their fingertips, they see consumption as access rather than possession, they prefer experiences over assets and see communications and community as vital aspects of their lives. Gen Zers are not only global nomads, they are also identity nomads, enabled by ever-advancing technology to curate the experiences and environments they choose around themselves.

To my mind, it is clear that Generation Z will have a huge impact on our way of living over the forthcoming decades and that many of their principles have been galvanised by Covid-19.  It is here that my interest, as a hotel designer, has been piqued. After all, given that it typically takes five plus years from an owner’s early vision to the moment when guests are welcomed, the oldest of the Gen Z cohort will be within their early thirties and at a stage in life to fully exercise their choices.

At the beginning of the year, ReardonSmith were approached to design a “Guestroom 2035” concept for Sleep & Eat, a leading hospitality design and innovation event. We leapt at the chance, seeing this as an opportunity to absorb ourselves in fresh thinking and new learning. Our objective was to create a guestroom that was advanced, yet still grounded in reality, which would offer tangible benefits for owners, investors and operators and which was future proofed because it responded to the expectations of Gen Zers.

We were privileged to work with an amazing team. HoCoSo, a company focused on creating solutions for the future of the hospitality real estate industry, and Delight Lifestyle Branding Agency were the first firms to join us. At our request, HoCoSo introduced us to a body of hospitality students at Glion Institute of Higher Education and Hotelschool The Hague. It was these students - the operators and guests of tomorrow - who acted as our client. Gen Zers defined our brief and directed our creative efforts.

The result was Heya, an urban hotel room created for Generation Z. We selected this name because it provides strong reference to the versatile nature of the space we designed. 'Heya' is the Japanese word for 'Room' and was traditionally a space that served as a living and dining room, and at night, a bedroom. It was a space that could be dynamically reconfigured. The word also happened to convey the inclusive values of our intended guests.

Our core design principles were:

Versatility - The space was designed to accommodate four guest types that were identified as: Leisure, Business, Wellness and Long-stay. To assist us in our design, a narrative behind each guest type and a personalised name for each of our fictitious guests were created.

Another key design feature was a moveable wall that provides ultimate flexibility, allowing our room to be completely opened-up to the adjacent space for social functions. During the low season, the room can be easily transformed into a meeting or co-working facility.

Technology –This was fully integrated into the room using an Internet-of-Things approach but was not overtly on display.

Wellness - Our streamlined room was full of natural daylight with special lighting to enhance wellness, and the latest standards of sustainable and biophilic design were introduced. Furniture was high quality and materials were natural, but nothing was opulent, and everything had a purpose. In keeping with the wellness theme, a four-sense shower experience with an integrated steam room was included.

Personal – Increasingly, luxury is measured by the degree of customisation available. Heya gave guests the ability to choose from an array of amenities to personalise their stay and technology delivered the ability to flex the room from party to work to family space at the touch of an app.

A website www.myheya.com was also created so clients and guests of the future can see for themselves the commercial, sustainable and experiential values that Heya embodies. Finally, although this was not our intention when we started out on this fascinating project, we realised that we had also created a room to self-isolate in with immediate potential for hotels currently needing to re-think their existing spaces.