Last week our director, Claire Smith stepped on stage at the Independent Hotel Show alongside consumer psychologist, Karen Fewell. The duo were exploring what’s inside the mind and the psychological impact of hospitality design. Despite being the final session of two days of fascinating talks, there was a full audience ready and waiting to grab some scientific learnings.

Whilst Claire and Karen are knowledgeable on all areas of the psychology of design, this session specifically looked at wellbeing and the fact that design decisions have a huge impact on your guests’ behaviour and mood. From simple, inexpensive interior changes to starting-from-scratch choices, there were plenty of practical ideas for attendees to take away.

Science of design

The session got underway with Karen sharing scientific evidence that confirmed why the ABDA design team place such a huge emphasis on psychology. With the majority of the world’s population spending around 95% of their time indoors (Spence, 2020) it’s so important the interior environment promotes wellbeing. The insight highlighted the impact of applying science right from the initial booking stage to the memories that guests take home with them.

Here’s just a few of the studies which Karen shared: –

“Eyesight is the sense that triggers most emotions experienced by people (ca. 80%)” Tuszyńska-Bogucka et al., 2020

“Architectural space can have various emotional meanings (positive or negative), thus increasing or decreasing positive emotional stimulation and the sense of security and comfort for the individual concerned.” Tuszyńska-Bogucka et al., 2020

Cool colours such as green, blue, and purple reflect wellness better than warm colours like orange, red, and yellow. Hee Lee et al., 2018

“Study participants are significantly and substantially happier outdoors in all green or natural habitat types than they are in urban environments.”
MacKerron, 2012.

Claire followed this fascinating insight with some of the practical ways her team create designs for both bedrooms and public spaces in hotels.

Impact of lighting

Light is something we always consider when designing a bedroom, both natural and artificial. This is key for regulating circadian rhythm which is the body’s internal clock that signals when to be alert and when to rest. Light also affects the production of melatonin which helps aid sleep.

Less clutter

Space is also key for helping with wellbeing and our designers look at ways to maximise the rooms we work with. This includes minimising clutter, having separate rest and working areas and ensuring guests can walk around the area freely. Lack of space to move around a room was one of the biggest frustrations amongst members of the audience at the Independent Hotel Show when Claire asked them about design woes.

Calming colours

Colour is always a key decision to make with interior design. Depending on the type of venue and how it’s being used will vary our colour options dramatically. Our team will look at the emotions we want hotel guests to feel from that environment and choose colours accordingly.

If we are going for a natural background to promote wellbeing, we’ll look at creative ways to bring in cosy colours to furnishings such as curtains, wallpaper, cushions, and linen.

Seating and scents

Claire also revealed the ways designers consider the furniture choices in both bedrooms and public spaces. Rounded styles of furniture are more likely to be used for comfiness in spaces where you want guests to stay for longer, but more angular and upright furniture is used for workspaces when you want to enable your guests to work efficiently. It’s vital that we address the different needs and behaviours of guests as ‘bleisure’ travel becomes more common.

The final area we addressed in this session was scent as smells are very personal choices. From simple diffusers to full systems that pump scents into bedrooms and public spaces, there are many ways we can help our clients to create the right smells in hotels to improve wellbeing.

Making memories

At the end of the session, Karen talked about cognitive biases and in particular the peak–end rule. People judge an experience based on how they felt at its most intense point and at its end, rather than based on the full experience or average of every moment of the experience. These heightened feelings could be positive or negative. A design frustration could be one of the key events guests remember about their stay if it triggered a strong emotion.

Want to know more?

If you would like to know more about the science of design and how we can apply this to help your hospitality business, get in touch using our contact us form. For those who would be interested in booking Claire and Karen for a speaking slot, email claire.smith@abdadesign.co.uk for speaker profiles.