The Hotel Lobbies of the 21st Century: A Push for Increased Socialization and Monetization

By Daniel C. Hanrahan II, CRE

The hotel lobby and its overall importance within the hotel have evolved with the historical events and cultural needs of the time. In the first hotel boom of the Roaring Twenties, the United States’ urban hotels were opulent structures which reflected the economic prosperity of the era. At the center of activity within these hotels was the hotel lobby. A place to see and be seen, where deals were sealed and fortunes made, the hotel lobby of that period was the heart of hotel operations. Following the development of the Interstate highway system in the midcentury, roadside motels emerged and hotels followed national development trends into the suburbs. The resultant effect was the complete elimination of the lobby in the case of the motel and the decreased prominence of the hotel lobby; as amenity levels increased within the guestrooms, the once integral part of the hotel was diminished to registration space adjacent to an empty area with a few chairs for seating.

This lobby arrangement creates several issues for hotel operators. A hotel lobby’s core function is to provide a neutral area for guests to publicly interact with others while on a business or leisure trip and the lobby of the past is increasingly unable to meet those needs due to its limited access to modern technological advances. Also, the lobby area represents valuable building square footage which is a lost revenue opportunity in a traditional seating-only arrangement. Today’s hotel lobbies can address both issues by crafting spaces better suited for socialization, which in turn creates a critical mass to support development of ancillary services such as food and beverage and retail to monetize the lobby area.

In the past, real-time communication within hotels typically occurred in person and often consisted of face-to-face discussion in lobby seating areas. Today’s guests are continually connected to their personal and professional networks via smart phones, laptops, and a myriad of other devices and services that have expanded the possibilities for socialization while staying as a guest at a hotel. While these communication methods have not replaced in-person dialogue, hotels must accommodate these lifelines for its guests by updating its lobby concept to encompass the entire scope of modern interaction. Several hotel brands have debuted new lobby concepts which will soon be seen at properties throughout the nation. Courtyard by Marriott has released a new lobby which continues the availability of complimentary wireless access with the addition of personal media pods which possess flat-screen televisions as well as a plug-in panel for charging and using electronic devices in an intimate booth setting. The Link@Sheraton is a partnership between Sheraton and Microsoft that creates a “communication destination” within the lobby featuring complimentary wireless access as well as internetenabled computers, some of which will have webcams, allowing guests to conduct video chats or send video postcards.

By establishing a nucleus of activity within the hotel, greater opportunities exist to monetize the lobby area through more flexible food and beverage options. For example, the new Courtyard lobby incorporates a foodservice concept called Central Bistro which allows guests three-meal options with access to all of the new technology features. Recently developed lifestyle brands such as Hyatt Place, aloft, Hotel Indigo each showcase a space-efficient food and beverage area which offers coffee, alcohol, and light fare such as sandwiches and salads throughout the day. Besides their small footprint, these areas are well-designed as they minimize the personnel needed to staff these services and also clearly define their function to the guest.

Full-service hotels have also followed suit with their select-service rivals by also developing new lobby restaurant concepts. One example is the Flying Spoons concept from Embassy Suites which draws inspiration from fast-casual cafes such as Panera Bread by offering casual service in an inviting and technologically connected environment. It is notable that Flying Spoons contains three different seating options, counter seating, traditional seating with tables and chairs, and wing-back chairs and ottomans with custom lamp and power ports; this flexibility allows guests to select the seating which best matches their food selections and desired dining experience. When contemplating a lobby redesign, hotels should consider the needs of their target market and select furniture accordingly. For example, a hotel whose dominant segment is a transient corporate guest traveling alone may elect to place a higher amount of counter-height seating areas with stool seating, since individual travelers may be reluctant to share a two-top table with a stranger, but are generally more open to the idea of occupying an adjacent stool to another patron which is more akin to the camaraderie of guests at a local diner or neighborhood bar.

In addition to food and beverage services within the lobby, many hotels have incorporated a small retail area adjacent to the front desk. Typically this area is open to guests at all times of the day and offer sundry items such as snacks, beverages, small cosmetic and hygiene items, over-the counter medication, as well as local souvenirs such as postcards and gifts. This compact retail area helps satisfy guests’ needs to purchase high turnover items while generating revenue, all in a space the size of a closet. Despite its small size, the retail area’s design does not need to resemble the inside of a closet; the aloft brand displays their items for sale in class cubicles evocative of Japanese capsule hotels and modern shopping experiences of companies like Apple.

By reconsidering the purpose of the lobby area, hotels can better meet the needs of their guests as well as increase their revenue potential via the success of their food and beverage and retail departments. In addition to satisfying the immediate needs of guests, hotels also stand to benefit from increased real-time word of mouth from guests’ e-mails, video postcards, tweets, and facebook status updates about their positive experiences at the hotels and their newly updated lobby spaces.