Hotels get rid of closets, add other storage solutions
The traditional hotel closet and dresser drawer are becoming obsolete. Instead, hotels are finding creative ways for guests to store their belongings.
Many guest rooms are getting smaller, especially as hotels introduce new brands that appeal more to younger travelers who don’t take trips with large luggage. Plus more travelers are spending time in lobbies or beyond the hotel boundaries vs. nesting in their rooms.
Closet doors and dressers are disappearing, nooks are becoming more fashionable and the bed is serving a dual purpose with space underneath for bags.
Designers spend hours trying to understand consumer behavior when it comes to unpacking. Take out the equation of the high-end long-term traveler who will essentially live in the suite and you will get this: a middle-class worker trying to get the room to work for him or her.
Sleep Inn, part of the Choice Hotels family, added a luggage bench, reduced the number of drawers, and designed a partially open closet. The partially open closet allows guests to see clothes hanging, but covers up the clutter of the ironing board.
“Many guests aren’t using drawers, but don’t want the ‘economy feel’ of exposed hooks on the wall or a stark hanging bar. But, they also don’t want to inadvertently leave anything behind,” says Anne Smith, vice president of brand management and design for Choice Hotels. “These changes reflect the way guests use the space today.”
Marriott International’s designers spend hours debating how best to use space, especially in new brands such as AC and Moxy that have smaller rooms.
Aliya Kahn, a designer for Marriott, says designers pay close attention to the types and sizes of bags that people are traveling with. They also study how guests move around the room.
For instance, they try to provide places for guests to leave their belongings, ideally near the bathroom, so that they are not throwing their clothing on a chair across the room.
“The thought here is how do we make it easy? How to we make it seamless? How do we make it intuitive?” she says.
Moxy hotel rooms tend to be about 185-square feet, so Kahn had to get creative.
“If you’re going to stuff it with a clos- et, you now have no place to move,” she says.
So she and her designers created an open storage system. They included a few stylish wooden handles on a peg wall and a shelf to keep the roller bag, which is what most people use for traveling.
The new Moxy Times Square in New York has a cubby for the suitcase and drawers for shoes. Kahn is constantly keeping tabs on the luggage sizes allowed by airlines.
Designers have also made room for suitcases to fit under the bed — not to be stuffed into but to fit in seamlessly.
“You don’t want it to look like a dorm room,” she says.
Mostly, the hotel doesn’t want its guests to spend too much time on figuring out where to place belongings.
“People want to go out and experience the city,” she says. “No one wants to spend time unpacking.”
Kristen Conry, vice president of product and brand development for Hyatt Hotels, says much thought has gone into the layout of rooms.
Hyatt is also experimenting with the open closet. Designers have created a grooming and prep zone. They got rid of traditional drawers.
“There’s a hesitancy to use storage in a room because things are not visible,” she says.
InterContinental Hotels Group’s designers have re-imagined the rooms for their new brands.
David Breeding, vice president of architecture and design for IHG Americas, says that when designed its newest brand, avid hotels, the company did extensive consumer testing to figure out how people move about the room.
When it comes to storage, inside the entryway is an open design that allows for quick unpacking and storage. The design contains a door-less, open closet, a designated area for an ironing board and open shelving that allows for an optional room safe and refrigerator.
“This is to minimize clutter and maximize space and promotes a clean, minimalist area that is functional and easy to access,” he says.
Lisa Checchio, senior vice president of brand for Wyndham Hotel Group, says the company is also getting rid of dressers and designing open closets and luggage racks to conform with consumer behavior.
“We believe that smaller doesn’t have to compromise on quality or guest experiences,” she says.