Space as a Service

Designing Spaces for Meaning and Connection

How do we design spaces so people can have an experience, ie feel something, perhaps awaken in some small way, or reflect on their lives or the world around them?

When we talk about experiences in hospitality, we’re typically talking about either customer service or a person-led encounter like a yoga or cooking class, a massage or a 1-1 fitness or medical consult.

But what about the space, itself? Can space provide an experience?

Museums have been doing this for years with interactive exhibits that activate the mind and emotions of visitors. For example, when I was at the Rubin Museum in NYC a few years ago, they had a powerful exhibit called A Monument for the Anxious and Hopeful created by artists Candy Chang and James A. Reeves, which gave people a chance to write down what they’re hopeful for and what they’re anxious about, on two sides of a wall.

It sounds simple enough but this small act was revelatory, opening my eyes to how my hopes and fears were intimately connected. I’ve never forgotten that exhibit because of what it showed me about myself and have a deep fondness for the Rubin as a result.

Space as a Service in Hospitality

As hoteliers, we are always thinking about artwork, lighting, sound, smell, and how to incorporate elements of nature especially if we care about biophilic design. But I believe there are opportunities for us in hospitality to move beyond all of this to doing something that can take our guests deeper into themselves in ways that are meaningful or fun.

Why should we think about a hallway, a dead corner or even a bathroom in this way?

Hotels serve as temporary homes for travelers, offering comfort and convenience but by programming a space with a novel and thought-provoking experience, my hope is that we can transcend functionality and create opportunities for emotional bonding between guests and our spaces and our brands.

Here are 3 ways that resorts can play with space to evoke emotions and foster a deeper sense of emotional connection.

1.     Space as Storyteller

Similar to the Rubin example above, can you give people easy ways to share their inner lives on your walls? Space can be a blank page that guests fill, not only experiencing the joy of self-expression but also providing a way for guests to feel connected to those who came before and for those who will come afterwards.

Here's an example from retail, where Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof Coffee location in NYC had a wall where people could document what they were grateful for.

In both the Rubin Museum and Bulletproof examples, note the artistic and creative ways that the space is designed for the interaction. You don’t want your guests to just stick post-its on the wall. Especially in the luxury tiers, you need to design this wall to be beautiful and brand-aligned.

Storytelling activations also celebrate diversity by giving people a way to share their unique stories, creating community by showcasing the ways we are different and what we have in common.

2.     Space as Guide

How do you help people navigate your space? Wayfinding refers to the systems that guide people through an environment and enhance their understanding and experience of the space. Effective wayfinding helps people get where they are going which contributes to a felt sense of well-being, safety and security.

As travel can be as much of an inner journey as an outer one, can you help people navigate their inner lives as much as help them find their way to the spa?

At my dentist’s office at Harmony Dental, a bathroom mirror becomes a source of comfort as people navigate the stress of a dental visit. Something as simple as a quote on a mirror can create a micro-moment that can reset your guest’s nervous system and help them feel like you care.

Or if you’d like to spark conversation and connection among guests, are there communal dining areas with shared tables to bring people together? Most retreat centers and some resorts offer this and one of my favorite new examples of this is The Breakfast Team, a group that curates breakfasts that anyone can join in restaurants in a few different cities. As they say on their website, it’s “Not dating or networking. Just breakfast.” For a friend who is spending a month in Lisbon, this was a great way to navigate finding a new community in an unstructured way.

3.     In-Room Space as Love

There are many ways we can personalize the room so that people feel seen and understood, ie loved. Many hotels will leave a hand-written note in-room with the person’s name and some resorts allow you to select your pillow, the artwork, or snacks (ie gluten free).

These personalized amenities signal to guests that they are being cared for, and helps guests feel a sense of ownership and investment in the space. As Buddhist teacher, Tara Brach, says, “Attention is the most basic form of love.”

But what about something even more personal? How do we give our guests opportunities to share themselves with us?

If personalization is you seeing your guest, then asking your guest to share herself with you is equally meaningful. Leaving a journal in room that every guest can add to can give a sense of connection to all the different people and stories that inhabited the room before and after for a meaningful in-room experience.

Or if you have the resources to leave a hand-written note in-room, go beyond a simple welcome and offer some thought-provoking questions about what this trip might mean to the guest or what they hope to get out of their time there. Then find a way for these to be submitted and then shared – anonymously – on your social channels or on a digital board.

Questions that drive inquiry, reflection and cultivate intentions can lead to revelation and then they’ll never forget you and this stay because you helped them see something new in themselves. And when you evoke emotion, you get laid down in the brain differently and are more likely to create a long-lasting memory.

CONCLUSION

Making spaces interactive is a wonderful way to add surprise and delight to your guest experience. In order to figure out the right thing to do, consider the narrative of the journey that your guest is on for ways to be relevant.

There’s something interesting in all this about the effort that we ask guests to make and how that impacts their stay, which I’ll write more about in a separate article.

There’s always a balance between what we do for our guests and their passive receptivity of it and what we ask guests to do for us. Making an effort can make experiences more rewarding, as Aldous Huxley explored in his 1923 article in Vanity Fair on Pleasures.

As always, all these things we do that are good for the guest experience are good for your brand and take you beyond the functional aspects of accommodation to a human experience.

These spaces then become catalysts for meaningful encounters, promoting a sense of belonging. As we navigate an increasingly digital world, the importance of well-designed spaces that nurture human connection becomes even more essential.

Writing this makes me wonder how we can incorporate these ideas into hospitals, schools, offices and cities!