Fabrice Knoll discusses the whims of a changing travel market, a new answer to minimalism and what lies ahead for hard-working business and luxury hotels.

by Mary Scoviak, Contributing Editor -- HOTELS Magazine, 4/1/2007

Fabrice Knoll, co-founder of Paris-based interior architectural firm DFKNOLL

Fabrice Knoll, co-founder (with his brother Didier) of Paris-based interior architectural firm DFKNOLL, discusses the whims of a changing travel market, a new answer to minimalism and what lies ahead for hard-working business and luxury hotels.

HOTELS: What are the major trends that are changing hotel design?

KNOLL: "Initiated six years ago, the spa trend is becoming almost a given in resorts. Travelers are focused on themselves; a vacation must include health or spa care. Looking more broadly at the trends, people want to be surprised with more varied food, more varied images, more varied effects in the public areas. They expect flat screens, comfortable quilts and pillows, IT connections and so on in the guestrooms. Function space needs a total rethinking regarding what it supplies to the guest and the way it is conceived."

HOTELS: What will be the new aesthetic? What makes a hotel passé?

KNOLL: "The more a hotel is conspicuous in following a trend, the sooner it will be outdated. Now, like before, good service and a smile are the keys to making a hotel memorable. After that, the importance is on big spaces and a room with a view, then a harmonious, logical design, that answers functions. If hoteliers want to change just one thing to update the look of each area of the hotel, I would advise: Remove the ugly armchairs in the lobby; take out the ugly centerpiece in the restaurant and shelve the ugly fabrics in the guestroom. However, the new aesthetic is not about paring away. The trend now is: Don't leave out anything, change the whole."

HOTELS: What are the biggest mistakes you see in hotel design and did you address them?

KNOLL: "Not enough lighting; the use of materials that are not easy to maintain, and "international" non-style style."

HOTELS: How much do you take your cue from fashion and how much from sense of place, architecture and brand?

KNOLL: "Fashion is something you buy one year and get rid of the next. Sense of place is key, as well as the functionality. Then you mix these elements with the branding."

HOTELS: Which brands or hotel companies do you see leading the way in design terms and why?

KNOLL: "Four Seasons for a true sense of luxury and service, the Rezidor Hotel Group for reactivity and search of originality, and probably emerging markets for freedom of design speech."

HOTELS: How can design maximize revenue generating space?

KNOLL: "It is a logical equation: a space that answers the needs of the guest and the operator will automatically save on cost and maximize revenue. Good design should increase the asset value. It does so by adding more natural light, rationalizing space and attracting both the guest and the crowds outside to the hotel, the restaurant and the bar. Improving profit also derives from minimizing wasted space, and one of the biggest wastes usually is in kitchens: I always compare the little restaurant on a street corner with two people in the kitchen and two waiters serving daily 200 meals, and all these hotels where a huge kitchen serves prefabricated food to 20 guests at night."

HOTELS: What suggestions do you have for optimizing the revenue generating aspects of small spaces?

KNOLL: "Try to eliminate small spaces. Make them part of a bigger function."

HOTELS: What is ahead in terms of guestroom layout and design?

KNOLL: "More air, more legroom, more armroom, more body space, more natural or natural looking lights Bathrooms are already big and pampering. We will see more focus on hygiene and on nature. Open look bathrooms cannot be a generalized trend, but they do provide a pleasant alternative in the right project.

HOTELS: What role do uniforms play in setting the design scene?

KNOLL: "Like the smile and the hello, they give the first impression of the hotel staff. Resort looks tend to more ethnic; urban looks chic and businesslike. Menus, plates, napkins, etc, all elements are part of the big image. Budgets need to take that into account."

HOTELS: How far can you push the design envelope without intimidating the guest?

KNOLL: "As far as you can. How cool is too cool? When it becomes really 'hot.' It is about challenging the guest; it is about amazing the guest. Hotels needs different destinations--so many places, so many souls, means there is enough room for all architectural concepts.

HOTELS:. What will be the next hot trend in hotel furnishings and finishes?

KNOLL: "Something that is manufactured by well-paid people to be sold to the hotelier for the right price versus quality.

HOTELS: Will we continue to see fashion designers crossing over?

KNOLL: "Architects are not fashion designers, and fashion designers are not architects. It is momentarily funny in a "peopleized" society. That said, I think that there definitely should be bridges between residential and hotel design, as well as between hotels and retirement homes or even hospitals."

HOTELS: No design lasts forever. How do you create design that will live longer with less investment in refurbishment and more impact?

KNOLL: "We do not follow trends too closely. Durable design comes from answering real needs and making sure that each cent you invest is for the quality and longevity of the items."