The lost hotel desk.....I read an article sometime ago about Marriott planning to omit the desk and desk chair in the guest rooms. There were also several comments to this in the social media. The reason for this we are told - is the Millennials. They need no desk, because they use their handhelds, laptops and rather work in the hotel lobby or anywhere else than in the room. I do not know if this age group is aware for how many issues they are used as an argument.
As I understand Marriott’s argument, they want to move the desk from small rooms to gain more space. This is a good argument. Many of the guest rooms in the size area of 20 square meters (215 square feet) are packed with furniture and sometimes it is hard to move around. If the desk is removed from the guest room we lose a place to work and write (yes, I still write sometimes!), but also a space where you can put loose items during your stay. I always drop my things – valet, tickets, receipts, magazines and documents – on the desk as there is no other place in the room – nightstands are too small and inconveniently located.
This leads to a discussion to rethink the furniture of guest rooms and question what we need, what we need it for and what we do not need. The discussion is, of course, limited to small budget room size.
The example of Motel One shows a minimal option of a table, which can be used as desk or just to put things as there is no more other space in the room. Others like Holiday Inn Express move in the same direction. The desk is not really planned for to work there. Or it is replaced by a table, but it is big enough to put your laptop there to check your emails etc. Yotel calls their rooms “cabins.” The nightstand is converted to a desk.
These are some examples of recent design developments. What all of them have in common is the focus on the bed and the bathroom – probably the most important features of guestroom.
The discussions and the developments to reduce the furniture of a guest room to a minimum are positive for all – owners, operators and clients - as long as the usability of the room is not restricted. I hope that it will not lead to new room categories – room with or without desk.
Di Herbert Mascha, MRICS Partner - MRP Hotels.Herbert Mascha is an experienced civil engineer, working on international hotel projects as a project manager and consultant.
|
|
|
|
