As the world continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and adapt to these unprecedented times, HD is checking in with members of the hospitality industry around the globe to find out how their businesses are being impacted and what they anticipate will change down the line.
Scott Lee, SB Architects
What are the biggest challenges you’re facing?
The uncertainty of the pandemic’s duration has definitely been a challenge up to now. It’s hard to plan for something that’s so dynamic in nature—it’s a waiting game and no one knows when it’s going to end, which affects everything from staffing to cashflow. We’re simultaneously planning for the worst and hoping for the best.
What is your current work situation?
Luckily, we jumped on the bandwagon early. About a month before lockdown, our IT team started prepping to make sure that everyone would have the necessary connection and infrastructure to work from home without an issue. When we were a week or so into the lockdown, we conducted an all-office survey to check-in and gauge not only how our team was feeling, but what else we could be doing as a firm to make this transition to working from home easier.
We’ve done everything we can to keep communication strong and our team engaged, including a global team Zoom happy hour every second Friday, a biweekly internal newsletter, twice weekly virtual SB fit sessions, twice daily coffee catchups, and we’ve just launched a (socially distanced) step competition.
Have you had to make any hard decisions?
Yes. As with the rest of the world, hard decisions—in one way or another—are a daily occurrence at the moment. The hardest decision, up to now, has been to let a few of our team members go, alongside implementing salary reductions across the board. Super hard decisions to make, but something we’ve had no choice but to face.
What are some of the positive effects of working in these new ways?
As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. We’ve spent time brainstorming and focusing on how we can complete a project kick-off meeting virtually with the same level of creativity as face to face. We’re currently in the testing phases, but we’re very excited about the possibilities it will open. We feel that creativity and productivity have not been adversely impacted. In fact, in certain situations, it’s been enhanced due to the lack of general office distractions.
Using the time usually spent on the commute to do something fun or productive, spending time with your kids, getting a workout in, and enjoying a slow breakfast have all been huge positives. Not only that, but no commute has enabled us to reduce our carbon footprint. Skies are bluer, waters cleaner—small silver linings. This has also been a recalibration time, a reset for business travel. We fly so much, and the way we have conducted meetings during this time will help us reduce that significantly when we get back into the office.
What is your pulse on the industry?
The hospitality industry is, of course, massively affected, but we don’t see this as a permanent situation. We’re positive the industry will bounce back. For architects working in the hospitality industry, the immediate effect isn’t as obvious. A lot of clients are kicking off and planning projects that won’t start construction for at least a year and won’t be open to the public until three years after that. I would say that 10-15 percent of our projects have been put on hold and 10 percent of our projects that we would have started by now have been delayed.
During the last month, I’ve found that I’ve been connecting with my peers and collaborators and comparing notes on how we are each running our companies, which has been great. Relationships are going to emerge from this that will be stronger than before.
What does this mean for the future of hospitality?
It will come back online, slowly, and in phases. To start with, people are going to be cautious about where they’re going, and they won’t want to immediately jump on a plane, so drive-to destinations will be the first to come back online.
The higher-end, luxury, and ultra-luxury sector will see an uptake at a similar rate, as the current situation won’t have had a material impact on the wealth of the clientele who frequent those destinations. Following that, low-density and horizontal resorts, where there is more space and guests can still keep a good distance from each other if needed, won’t be far behind. We also anticipate a resurgence in renovations and repositionings, as hoteliers strive to refresh and revitalize.
Lastly, share some good news! Have you done anything to stay busy in these crazy times?
I feel more connected to the senior staff and management teams. This crisis has required us to be in constant communication, working collectively to get the firm through to the other side. And, on a similar note, I would say that the current situation has done a great job of uniting our two main offices in Miami and San Francisco. It’s all hands on deck with our current projects and that, combined with the all-office meetings/happy hours, has created a spirit of camaraderie that can be felt throughout the team.
Lastly, the slight slowdown in project work has freed up a little bandwidth to tackle and finish a few projects and tasks that would either usually get pushed or take a lot longer to complete. For example, we’re exploring a couple of new business avenues, we’re working on entries for a few competitions, and our marketing team are finishing up redesigns of our website and CRM systems.
Gina Deary + Lisa Simeone , Simeone Deary Design Group
What are the biggest challenges you’re facing?
Lisa Simeone: What we’re trying to do is stay focused on what we can control and that is how our work can contribute to solving problems for our clients, our industry, and the guests who come to the spaces we design. At its core, what we do is create spaces that are intended to evoke emotion and create human connection, and we don’t intend to give that up, so our challenge is to find new ways to do that while adapting to this climate. We are certainly in uncharted waters not just as an industry, but as a nation and a world, but now more than ever, we feel a responsibility to find solutions through design that will allow our clients to get back to work, and to get their hotels, restaurants, and bars back open. And this is a challenge that truly inspires us.
What are some of the positive effects of working in these new ways?
LS: We continue to foster transparent communication within our internal teams, our partners, and our clients. In some ways, the changes in our daily lives have sparked creative thinking from every member of our staff. What has remained steadfast is our approach to instilling confidence, empathy, and support in every single aspect of how we work together. We’ve always felt immense pride in our team, our industry, and our city, but now we feel it more so than ever. [We have been] learning to appreciate each other even more.
It goes without saying that everyone across the board has mastered virtual meetings and embraced the technology that has allowed us to do everything from a project walkthrough to a design charrette. While we don’t ever want to lose that human-to-human connection you can only get from being in the same room together—touching fabrics, pinning images, and sketching ideas—it has been truly awe-inspiring to witness the camaraderie, leadership, and willingness of every one of our designers to work together and bring new and innovative ideas to the table.
What is your pulse on the industry?
Gina Deary: The design industry is shifting its approach, addressing every aspect of public spaces with new eyes, and pushing into new creative territory as we look at both retrofit and construction opportunities with a new lens. It’s a business that’s about creating human comfort, and we will need to do that more than ever as we all return to public spaces. We are staying in touch with clients—pushing innovative, thought-provoking, and inspiring designs—and just doing the work we love to do. Creating a sense of connection for our clients and their guests is still of utmost importance, and we don’t see that changing anytime soon.
What does this mean for the future of hospitality?
GD: Sometimes it takes a difficult time to shake up creative thinking and push us to a next level of ideation and problem solving. We’re lucky to be on the creative side of the industry, where stretching for the next big thing often happens. We’re looking at everything from materials and the use of physical space to touchless technology and new experiences in food service. The answers will come and hospitality will return, through a steady focus on the human value of amazing experiences and innovation.
Jason Holley, Universal Design Studio
What are the biggest challenges you’re facing?
The most challenging part is the uncertainty. The uncertainty of what tomorrow holds, how the world will change, how this will impact our lives, and how we will work and play in the future. Although the world is anything but static, this situation shows how volatile and ever-changing it is. But out of this trauma comes an opportunity to reshape the world in a way in which people and the planet are put first.
What is your current work situation?
The whole studio has been working from home for the last six weeks. It feels like we now have 60 small studios spread throughout London (and beyond). The team has been incredible in adjusting to this new mode of working, and I’m very proud and inspired by how everyone has come together. Our studio’s approach to creativity has always been collaborative, and it is a real challenge to find ways that we can share ideas and be creative. We have daily video calls, and we have started to experiment with open video call creative sessions that are less like a meeting and more like leaving a window open whilst you sketch and discuss ideas.
Also, many homes are now supporting multiple overlapping functions. I have two children and it is now normal for the sitting room to transform over the day to a design studio, [gym], workplace, school, cinema, dance studio, library, and music room. A true hybrid space!
What are some of the positive effects of working in these new ways?
This period of social distancing will ultimately bring us all closer together. I have already seen an incredible sense of community and collaboration coming out of this situation. There is also an increased awareness about the role of design and the impact it can have on your life. While living in confinement, the value of design as a thing that sits between us and the world has been heightened. People are reevaluating how their homes and the objects within them work in terms of their usefulness—both functional and aesthetics.
What is your pulse on the industry?
We are very lucky to have projects all around the world at different stages of development and across different sectors, and this [is helping] us weather the storm. On the one hand, we have seen projects go on hold, but we have also seen some new projects start and we also restarted projects in China that had been on hold from January.
What does this mean for the future of hospitality?
Despite the uncertainty, I feel very positive about the future. People will always want to travel. It’s part of being human, but people will want more from their experiences. They will be more value driven rather than rate driven. They will rate experience as the top of the agenda and will seek out more distinct, meaningful, and unique experiences.
This period of social distancing will also create a desire for people to connect in more meaningful ways. We will see more of a focus on human-centered design, understanding the social implications, and defining an experience that responds to their needs and desires.
Lastly, share some good news! Have you done anything to stay busy in these crazy times?
I’ve enjoyed spending more time thinking about food and figuring out new recipes made up from what we have and transforming them into something wonderful. Cooking is also a real act of love and the feeling of delivering food to the table to share with your loved ones is unbeatable. And I’ve finally cleared out the shed!
Related stories:
4 Designers and Architects on the Future of Hospitality
3 Design Duos on Making the Most of Trying Times
6 Designers, Architects, and Entrepreneurs on Staying Connected
For more COVID-19-related news and stories from HD, click here.
