Millennials number over 80 million, making them the largest generation ever. These up-and-comers now outnumber baby boomers and gen xers in the workforce and represent the “worker bees” most likely to be tasked with extensive business travel. Moreover, research by Barkley, Boston Consulting Group, and SMG showed that over 70 percent of millennials aspire to visit all 50 states, travel abroad as much as possible, and visit all seven continents in their lifetime. The influence these traveling millennials bring with them is immense, and it has impacted the realm of hotel design.
Millennials favor work/life integration. For them, work can take place anywhere, at any time, as the lines between work and play blur. A seat at the coffee counter or a couch in the lobby is as good a place as any to answer a few emails or tweak a spreadsheet. Gathering in the hotel’s lounge or on a terrace overlooking the pool suits them better than booking a meeting room. For hotel designers, that means creating collaborative spaces throughout the hotel—both inside and out.
Today’s technology provides the freedom to work anywhere. Being a tech-savvy society, millennial habits have become the norm. The average hotel guest is now traveling with three to five electronic devices. Providing plenty of outlets and USB ports is not enough; they must be in view, easy to find, and easy to reach.
Within the guestroom itself, the emphasis is the same—millennials value the ability to multitask anywhere. So hotel designers are making desks smaller and providing lap desks to make it easy to use a tablet or laptop while sitting up in bed.
Millennials tend to be more casual. Hoteliers have discovered that less and less travelers unpack their bags these days; they also rarely take the time to find and set up a luggage rack stowed in the closet. So designers are now adding benches conveniently placed between the bed and bath, ottomans that can serve multi-purposes, and armchairs covered in durable fabric that can stand up to the wear-and-tear of bags, laptops and even feet resting upon them.
For business travelers especially, a trip is often a quick in-and-out, one-night stay. While they may hang a shirt, most don’t wish to fully unpack, nor do they want to accidentally leave something behind. As a result, closets are getting smaller, often without a door. Likewise, dressers are less formal and may incorporate more of an open shelving design than actual drawers.
Dressers are not the only thing being “deconstructed.” Bathrooms are being divided to bring the sink out into the guestroom. This better accommodates couples traveling together. One can be showering as the other applies makeup or dries their hair. Since millennials blur the line between work and play, they are more likely to bring a significant other along on a business trip.
Some guestrooms today do not have a separate bathroom at all. Tubs are gone and shower stalls can be equipped with technology that turns glass walls opaque with the flip of a switch. Lighting design is particularly critical in this type of set-up, as one person may need to be up and getting ready for a business meeting while their companion sleeps in.
Sleeping is still the first order of business for a hotel room, and contemporary design preferences are ratcheting up requirements for sound-proofing between rooms. Flat panel televisions have emerged from armoires and are now most often mounted directly onto the wall. Wall-to-wall carpeting has been replaced with hardwood, laminate, ceramic tile, or even polished concrete floors as millennial tastes are giving the definition of luxury more of a minimalist slant.
With millennials, it’s never either/or; it’s both. This puts the heat on hoteliers, their staff, and the design team to make certain that all the options are available to keep these customers coming back.
Walt Miller is design director of John Portman & Associates.
Photo credit: John Portman & Associates
