Hotel Design and Construction Need Radical Innovation
Skift Take
Hotel design can be bland because brands, owners, and lenders aren't incentivized to take risks. Some outside pressure is needed to boost innovation.
Early Check-In
Editor’s Note: Skift Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill brings readers exclusive reporting and insights into hotel deals and development, and how those trends are making an impact across the travel industry.Skift highlighted 15 Hotel Designers to Watch Now last week. While helping to put that list together, I noticed that innovation isn't as widespread as it could be.
To learn more, I spoke with John Hardy, chairman and founder of The Hardy Group.
Hardy's Atlanta, Georgia-based company is a full-service development company for hotel investors and brands.Over three decades, the group has participated in 870 hospitality projects worldwide worth more than $6 billion. Projects are typically urban hotels, resorts, and select-service hotels.Hardy Group also owns hospitality real estate.Hardy said the hotel development ecosystem has many incentives that discourage innovation.
"Brands still drive a lot of design," Hardy said. "But many brands are doing just the bare minimum to be competitive." "It's often
