When Good Design Fails to Deliver Value

7 March 2025

Design is one thing; execution is another.

Recently, I walked into a hotel that had clearly invested a significant amount of money to bring its spaces up to contemporary relevance. The visual impact was immediate – sleek lines, thoughtful color schemes, and Instagram-worthy focal points. But as I approached the front desk, the disconnect became apparent. The staff, though polite, seemed uncertain and ill-equipped to leverage the impressive environment around them. This experience left me pondering: How do we bridge the gap between design intent and operational reality?

In today’s competitive hospitality landscape, hotels are pouring millions into renovations and redesigns. The motivation is clear – to create spaces that captivate guests, encourage social media sharing, and position the brand as modern and relevant. Good design can set the stage for exceptional experiences, influencing guest perceptions from the moment they step through the door.

However, as my recent experience highlighted, even the most stunning design can fall flat when it’s not supported by equally impressive service.

The staff I encountered weren’t poorly intentioned – far from it. But they lacked the training and understanding to bring the full value of the space to life. This disconnect is a common and costly issue in the industry. It can stem from various factors:

1. Insufficient training – Staff may not be adequately prepared to work within and leverage the new environment.
2. Misalignment between design and its brand vision/identity ( a discussion for another day), into the operations; Sometimes, beautiful spaces are created without considering the practical needs of day-to-day operations.
3. Outdated procedures: Standard operating procedures may not have been updated to reflect the new design and intended guest experience.
4. High turnover: Constant staff changes can make it challenging to maintain a consistent level of service that matches the design intent.

This execution gap comes with significant hidden costs. The substantial investment in design fails to deliver its full return when staff can’t capitalise on the improved spaces. Negative reviews may follow, focusing not on the beautiful environment but on the disconnect between expectations set by the design and the actual service delivered. Staff morale can suffer too, as employees may feel out of place or unprepared in their new surroundings.

A beautifully designed hotel is a canvas – it’s the team who brings that canvas to life with vibrant guest experiences. As we continue to invest in updating and elevating our physical spaces, we must equally invest in preparing our teams to deliver service that matches these environments. Only then can we truly deliver on the promise of our design investments and create the memorable experiences that keep guests coming back.

The goal, after all, is not just to create beautiful hotels, but to make hotels better in every aspect – from design to service and everything in between.

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