To find out exactly what guests want and need in their guestrooms, WoodSpring Hotels, operators of the Value Place and WoodSpring Suites brands, spoke to more than 12,000 guests and conducted 1,300 room audits. “We went into occupied rooms and looked at everything from the kitchens and bathrooms to storage and technology, so we had a really good handle on how people actually used the rooms,” explains Mike Varner, EVP of brand strategy and management.
From this extensive research, the company created a new interior design package for WoodSpring Suites that’s “Refreshingly Simple.” The new look incorporates elements of nature throughout the hotel, complemented by bright accent colors and white bedding. WoodSpring partnered with design and architecture firm Gensler on the design development. “You’ll find far fancier designs out there but for what we are—an economy segment brand—it’s pretty killer,” Varner says.
The Value Place and WoodSpring Suites brands have a lean, efficient operating model that requires only five full-time employees. It was imperative that the new design not compromise this model, Varner says. Even though the new design costs about 5 percent more (approximately $250,000) to build, the cost to operate remains the same, he assures. Existing guests said in a survey that they would pay 20 percent more for the new design, while the target group said they were willing to shell out 25 percent more, Varner said. “Your operating costs are the same and your revenue is going to go up. All that top line goes right to the bottom line.”
The package is available in orange (Maple Field), grayish-blue (Stony Brook), and blue (Morning Glory) color schemes. Design highlights include full-size vanities with lighted mirrors and stand-up showers in the bathrooms and well-planned storage, working, and eating areas.
WoodSpring’s typical guests aren’t staying there to socialize with others, Varner says, so public space remains limited. But the brand still wanted to improve the welcome experience. Current Value Place hotels have entryways with a small window, almost like a doctor’s office, for check-in. The new WoodSpring Suites entryway features natural wood finishes and black and white artwork localized to the community to create a sense of place, punctuated by accent colors. “As we move up to WoodSpring Suites, our consumer target there has a little bit more expectations,” Varner says.
In the guestroom, WoodSpring switched to all-white bedding because consumers didn’t feel confident that the comforters were being washed, even though the brand has a rigorous 99-point cleaning process. “We had to go to white to prove to them it’s clean,” Varner says. Similarly, even though properties shampooed the carpets in changeover rooms, guests still perceived them as dirty. New wood-like floors are more aesthetically appealing to guests.
Research also revealed that guests were more likely to store their belongings in open cabinets rather than ones with doors, Varner says. In response, the brand created a new closet system with cubbies for storage. Suitcases can be stowed away underneath the platform-style bed.
WoodSpring Suites currently has four properties open with 10 more under construction and 70 in the pipeline, Varner says. The open hotels incorporated the new bedding packages and will eventually be retrofitted with elements of the new design. The “Refreshingly Simple” design will start popping up in new hotels later this year.
