Find, Create, Operate: the Hotel Project Development Lifecycle

Global tourism has experienced a steady growth over the past five years and is expected to continue. A two trillion dollar revenue in an industry that employs over 60 million people, the importance of where all these travelers stay has never been more relevant.

Led by two global veterans of the hospitality design industry, this two-day program will examine the hotel development process from the perspective of owners, operators, developers, and designers. Lay the groundwork for understanding the hotel industry with specific terminology, a history of hospitality, current industry observations and trends.

The course will address the current state of the hospitality industry, emerging trends in the context of the industry’s history, strategies for solutions to potential hotel sites, and worldwide case studies of a variety of hotel types. Expect to get deep into the details, including how to adapt to the unique design challenges that each part of a hotel presents and best practices for how to tackle those challenges.

Program participants will also engage in a highly interactive design charrette which is woven throughout the program, in which participants will utilize the course information to simulate the design and development process leading to a successful hotel design project proposal. Participants will debate the best strategies for potential hotel sites and, by role-play, pitch those strategies to investors, as well as gain hands-on practice designing a hypothetical hotel with real-time feedback from industry experts.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course, attendees should be able to:

• Understand the historical evolution of hotels;
• Discuss the current state of the hospitality industry;
• Distinguish hotel market segmentation and brand identifiers;
• Understand the unique aspects of the hotel development process;
• Identify basic hotel elements and their required adjacencies;
• Understand hotel operations and operational efficiencies;
• Identify trends that inform the hotel lifecycle, from sustainability to social media to technology;
• Appreciate the value of an informed design process to a successful hotel project.