Design Inspired by Pandemic Will Illuminate Travel

Covid has been a forcing factor in just about every facet of the travel industry. How places, spaces, and experiences are designed for the future is undoubtedly one of them.

Read The Long View This Week: The Centrality of Design in a Pandemic Era

Though the pandemic may recede and disappear from view in the future, the collective trauma of the experience will have forced some bright minds to re-think everything from how we line up, how we sleep to how much elbow room we have on the transcon flight. Also, our sensory needs will come into crisp focus: after months of confinement, priorities are re-aligned and traveler behaviors at every spectrum of the industry will place even more value on fresh air, space, and a connection to nature.

Read Stop Dreaming of a Pre-Pandemic Travel Industry: Key Takeaways From Skift’s Design The Future

Skift over the past year has written on these ideas that may just emerge as the rare bright spots from the tragedy of this pandemic.

Some areas where design will push the ball forward in travel:

At the Airport

“The Return to Travel,” a study commissioned by the design and architecture firm Gensler for frequent travelers, cites the airport as the highest area of concern. Design has played a key role so far in overhauling the experience at airports, particularly around ticketing, bag check, and security. The fast movers have already overhauled nearly everything to be touchless, rapid, and designed to maintain physical distancing. One example, Dubai International Airport, has eliminated friction points where documents need to change hands and has accelerated the use of biometrics. At Terminal 3 at DXB, Emirates passengers can now check-in for their flight, go through immigration, enter the Emirates Lounge, and board their flights without touching anything. Human contact is greatly reduced. This was already in the works, but Covid was a forcing factor. Look to companies like Clear in the U.S. to play a role in powering these experiences going forward.

Read Airports Look to Vendors for Tech to Help With Social Distancing of Passengers

Read Airports Push for New Contactless Tech and Automation as Budgets Shrink

In the Air

In-flight, we’ll see subtle changes in design to ensure hygiene standards. Travelers are used to visual queues like the sticker on the toilet paper, or the sanitized remote control to convey a sense that something has been prepared and there were work and effort behind the scenes of the interaction. A future-facing vision of this can be seen in design firm Priestman Goode’s concept to show when seats are clean: it includes upholstery that changes color when sanitized with UV light so that passengers know their seat is clean upon arrival. It is an interesting concept, but as with many first and business class ideas, sometimes these are more PR bait than will be implemented.

Read No Stroopwafels, Fancy TV Screens? How U.S. Air Travel May Change Beyond Tackling Health Concerns

Similarly, there are proposed prototypes that provide a bit more breathing room in economy, but these types of things are often dead on arrival when it comes to the balance sheet of an airline. The reality will likely be more visual cues to passengers that reinforce the cleaning standards that went on before they boarded.

Read Just What Is a HEPA Filter and Why Is It Giving the Travel Industry Hope?

On Property

Open space and access to nature are newly front-and-center. The likes of Luxury Frontiers are well-positioned from a design standpoint to address the market need.

Read 3 New Design Concepts for Hospitality That Make Even More Sense Post-Covid

Though ostensibly they work in canvas and wire to partner with hospitality brands to make new structures that blend in with their environments, their thinking goes deeper. According to the website, it isn’t just about the physical structures: it is the depth they go to understand the “physical, geographical, and ecological aspects of the destination (among them: landform, geology, water movement, terrain conditions, stability to the flora and fauna, habitat dynamics, and pollution risks).” This type of design fits with a post-Covid world, where connection to nature, environmental sustainability, and nuance is more important.

Read Hotels in Asia Revise Renovation Designs to Suit Post-Covid World

Also, as I referenced in a recent story, for a glimpse at the future, look to modular construction, with allows for smaller footprints on land, and in the case of Kasita, individual units with no shared hallways allowing guests privacy and their own space. As evidenced by the recent $42 million funding round of Getaway, there’s an appetite for small, private spaces rooted in nature and that live in harmony with their surroundings.

Read Lessons From Africa’s Safari Lodges for a Post-Pandemic Era

Read Wellness Will Enjoy a Tailwind as a Design Theme for Resorts and Cities: The Long View This Week

Read Marriott Unveils Sheraton’s New $1 Billion-Plus Look — Finally

Read A Pop-Up Business Hotel in Singapore: If You Build It, They Will Come … or Not

Read New Non-Gaming Vegas Hotel for Biz Travelers Will Rely on 1960s Design

In Virtual Worlds

Read How Virtual Platform Second Life Kept This Small Baltimore Museum Going

Final Designing Thought

At its best, good design solves problems and harmonizes. Differentiated thinking during and post-Covid will hopefully break up convention and bring entirely new experiences to the table. Which, one hopes, will benefit the customer experience in the long term.

For More on Design, Be Sure to Check Out Skift IDEA Awards Celebrating the Best in Design, Innovation and Experiences in Travel.