The lobby sets the first and last impressions that guests perceive of your hotel. To create an incredible atmosphere that complements their experience in your establishment, designing the lobby should prioritize breathtaking aesthetics as well as practical functionality to create an inviting environment for visitors.
Creating a warm and welcoming space will help guests feel comfortable and encourage them to come back. What makes a great lobby that guests will love, though?
General Design Features of Hotel Lobbies that Guests Love
While each hotel has its own unique characteristics, there are some universal elements that contribute to an excellent experience. These include:
An Open and Inviting Layout: A layout that’s roomy and spacious with plenty of seating shows that your hotel prioritizes the comfort of its guests. You can add multiple types of seating to accommodate various preferences, such as benches, chairs, couches, desks, and cafe tables.
Appealing Decor: The decor in your lobby should reflect the overall style and theme of your hotel. If you’re striving for a modern look, you could opt for some modern linear or panel grille wood panels that add depth, texture, and warm contrast. Conversely, if you prefer a more vintage appeal, flat veneer panels can create a mid-century tiled aesthetic.
Bright and Inviting Lighting: Lighting is one of the most important aspects of any space, and it’s especially important in a hotel lobby. A bright and airy space feels welcoming and inviting. Be sure to use a mix of natural and artificial light sources to achieve the perfect balance.
Comfort and Convenience: Beyond high-quality furniture, having concessions or an eatery nearby also provides an additional enhancement to the guest experience. Having a space to grab a snack or a drink or a place to order freshly made food can save a trip off-site to a grocery store or restaurant while also generating more revenue from your visitors.
Why You Should Incorporate Wood Panels Into Your Lobby Design
In recent years, premium wood paneling has emerged as a popular trend in many hotel lobby designs. The versatility and natural finish of these panels contrast stylishly with other materials like stainless steel, concrete, and drywall.
If you are looking for some inspiration in designing your own hotel’s lobby, here are some tips for incorporating wood paneling into your space’s design:
Create an Accent Wall with Texture
As we mentioned above, wood creates an appealing contrast with colder-toned materials like concrete and drywall. You can use a textured panel style like grilles or cubes to create a unique wall that stands out from the others and can tie together a portion of a lobby like your seating or dining area.
The warm tones that wood panels offer also create a more luxurious atmosphere within the lobbies of hotels that appeal to any vacation budget. Your guests will love feeling like they are staying in an attractive establishment with creative designs that make your building feel like more than a place to sleep.
Make a Wave with Curved Textures
Beyond flat panels, you can also incorporate curved or wavy textures with specially shaped panels. While these are typically mostly used as a decorative feature on ceilings, you can also use them along walls to create a sense of movement.
When used on ceilings, curved panels can also create unique lighting effects. You can place lights at contrasting angles along the curves to experiment with ambiance, brightness, and tones. For example, you may prefer a brighter LED bulb for your lobby and a mellower yellow bulb for a dining or bar area.
Create a Calmer Indoor Environment
Acoustic wood panels combine form with function for a seamless blend of style and sound control. These panels feature routed perforations that dissipate, absorb, or reflect the sound within a space. This creates a more balanced tone and can help lessen or eliminate echoes in large lobbies with many hard surfaces for sounds to bounce off of.
In turn, this also helps create a more relaxing and enjoyable environment for guests. Whether they are waiting to check in or enjoying some leisure time, you can create a more relaxing indoor space for them while they are in your lobby.
Get Sustainable Wood Panels for Your Hotel Lobby Design
At Rulon International, we are committed to providing hotels and other hospitality businesses with premium, custom-engineered, and sustainable wood panels for their building designs. Each one of our solutions is designed with the specific needs of your establishment in mind to help you bring an incredible space to life that also benefits the environment around it.
To learn more about our products, contact us today.
