Hospitality in Emerging Markets
Hoteliers rely on British companies to bring style and expertise to their new developments, as Sarah Cartledge discovers.
B
ritish expertise is sought after in many sectors and the hospitality industry is no exception. The bulk of
the design market is British and American with British interior designers the favourites in emerging markets. In continents such as Africa and Europe this is as much to do with proximity as excellence, but equally British openness to different cultures makes British designers the first port of call in a relatively small industry.
“We are often the most
knowledgeable consultant on the project because we have done so many of them,” says Andrew Linwood of Areen Hospitality Design which specialises in emerging markets. “Often hotel owners have made their money in other fields and decide they want to have a hotel as well. But the lack of experience means that these owners sometimes don’t understand that they need a hospitality designer as well as an architect, and we are the people who know how to spec a hotel that is open 24/7 for 365 days of the year.” Areen’s clients span the gamut of major hotel operators and include Starwood (Westin and Sheraton), InterContinental, Hilton, Swissotel, Marriott and Hyatt amongst others. These big guns need to work with the experts in emerging markets and much of the work done by
Areen involves smoothing the path between vision and reality. “There are lots of vested interests in these markets and we come across extended family members that owners would like to include in the project,” Andrew says. “Diplomatic skills are vital as it’s a complicated process.” The essence of a hotel designer’s work is to create a visually beautiful product that will be commercially sound for 25 years. Whether the current vogue is for animal print or block colours, the hotel has to be contemporary but not fashionable so it won’t date. But behind the soft furnishings and the discreet lighting, there is a huge amount of
work that goes in to the technical design that allows the smooth running of the hotel. “We live and breathe hotels,” says
‘There is often a lot of conflict between the owner and the operator and we bring a great deal of support to the project because we can advise the client what the operator will or won’t accept.’
Trevor Cotterell, Managing Director, Areen Designs
114 GLOBAL OPPORTUNITY 2014 | ISSUE 01
Trevor Cotterell, Managing Director of parent company Areen Design. “There is often a lot of conflict between the owner and the operator and we bring a great deal of support to the project because we can advise the client on what the operator will or won’t accept. We support our client by supporting the operator, so it’s a circular process.” The company has offices in Dubai, Russia and Delhi to cater for the huge amount of empty hotel space that still exists. “The rule of thumb is that it takes a year to design a hotel. Most owners would like to have them ready within three months, but there are hundreds of decisions that have to be taken and this slows down the process enormously. We need to come on board before the ink is dry on the contract. Most architects who
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ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
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AREEN HOSPITALITY
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