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"The future looks precarious for the [hospitality](https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/ad100-designers-on-what-residential-designers-should-know-about-hospitality) sector. For many hotels and restaurants, it’s not just a question of when they will be able to open back up—it’s if they even will.\n\nIn March alone, the profitability of hotel rooms in the United States [plummeted](https://str.com/press-release/str-us-hotel-profits-fell-101-point-7-march) by 101.7%, according to STR, a hospitality analytics firm. The National Restaurant Association [estimated](https://restaurant.org/Covid19) that the industry has lost some $80 billion so far.\n\n+++inset-left\n\n[#externallink: /externallinks/5db20af5868e940009b6f6f7]|||Become an AD PRO Member|||\n\n+++\n\nThe statistics are indeed dire, but certain hospitality veterans are feeling optimistic. One person who’s witnessed his fair share of tumult in the hospitality industry is entrepreneur [Ian Schrager](https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/ian-schrager-life-of-the-party), who has spent the last four decades at the helm of legendary venues such as Studio 54, the Palladium, the Royalton, the Public, and many more.\n\n“My personal view is that we’ll see an absolute return to normal,” he says. “There’s not one crisis where there hasn’t been a return to normalcy. I remember after 9/11, everybody was saying there was going to be a paradigm shift. But except for long lines at the airport, I don’t see where it’s changed. We’re wired a certain way—we’re wired for socializing and I don’t think you’re going to be able to change that.”\n\nStill, even Schrager agrees that certain short-term changes will need to occur as the hospitality industry navigates the wake of COVID-19. Here’s what he and eight other designers and industry experts think the future will look like.\n\n**Safety will be out in the open…**\n\nLast month, California governor Gavin Newsom offered up his [predictions](https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2020-04-16/masked-waiters-and-temperature-checks-the-surreal-new-world-of-la-restaurants) for what a dining experience might look like when the world reopens: “You may be having dinner with a waiter wearing gloves, maybe a face mask, dinner where the menu is disposable, where…half the tables in that restaurant no longer appear.”\n\nAccording to those in the hospitality business, Newsom’s estimations aren’t so far off the mark. “In the short run, people are going to be apprehensive, so there will be an emphasis on health and safety precautions,” says Schrager, “like the way restaurants deliver their food, their capacity, whether or not housekeeping goes into your hotel room as much as they did before, and how room service works.”\n\nJeremy Levitt, cofounder of New York–based Parts and Labor Design, thinks that these practices could even be codified in a program similar to LEED that establishes cleanliness standards for shared spaces. “Will there be a catalog of materials that fall in the ‘less porous’ category, thus being easily cleanable surfaces that germs can’t live on for long periods of time?” he ponders.\n\nPerhaps the most pertinent redirect, at least initially, will be a detour from the idea of “co” everything—coworking, coliving, codining. “There’s been an ongoing shift towards more communal amenity space being valued above the private space of one’s apartment or hotel room,” adds Danu Kennedy, also of Parts and Labor. “This could definitely be impacted, with the value system changing to prioritize the private space once again as people reduce their desire to socialize in person.”\n\n**…But counterbalanced with wellness**\n\nIrene Kronenberg of the Tel Aviv and Amsterdam–based firm [Baranowitz \\+ Kronenberg](https://www.baranowitzkronenberg.com/), whose recent projects include Sir Victor hotel in Barcelona, says the focus we’ve seen on wellness and self-care will only continue to gather momentum. “Hospitality has been too long a variation on the same theme,” she says. “The current crisis could certainly serve as an opportunity to recalculate a new path, with designers embracing these new currents of values and shift from selfie-tagging to self-empowerment in pursuit of holistic health and well-being.”\n\nA big part of that, says W. Brian Smith of [Studio Tack](http://studiotack.com/) in Brooklyn, will not only be about more stringent health and safety practices, but also considering the consumer’s frame of mind. “Architects and designers will be looking at ways to make our new ‘defensive’ spaces”—think plexi’d-off check-in desks—“come off as warm and embracing. The challenge will lie in balancing the need to mitigate worry while at the same time providing spaces that invite guests to relax and enjoy themselves. Designers will need to tap into the psychology and emotional well-being of the guests more so than before.”\n\n**Like it or not, tech will be everywhere**\n\nThough guests have typically resisted technological features, like self check-in and contactless payments, in favor of genuine human interaction, Schrager says in a post-COVID-19 world they’re here to stay—and will only become more prevalent. “It’s a new idea and it takes people time to accept it,” he concedes. “I think what will happen as a result of COVID-19 is that a lot of hotels will use that as a reason to start doing those things with technology.”\n\n**Luxury hospitality will bounce back—but with less flash**\n\nThough many people are likely to feel the economic impact of the pandemic for years to come, the luxury hospitality market will endure, says Keith Wilcox, associate professor of marketing at Columbia University. “After the financial crisis, luxury consumers did not curtail their spending. They simply changed their spending behavior towards less visible displays of wealth,” he explains. “I also think that the trend towards consumers purchasing experiences, as opposed to products, will continue to accelerate. From a hospitality brand perspective, this means focusing less on ‘Instagrammable moments’ and more on experiences tailored specifically to customers’ needs.”\n\nWilcox’s predictions tie into an [increasing consensus among hospitality designers](https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/hospitality-trends-2020) that the Instagram “look” is over. In its place, we’re likely to see a focus on the “experience” of hospitality spaces rather than visual impact.\n\n**Design will become even more environmentally conscious**\n\nWe’re already seeing [positive environmental impacts](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/22/environment-pandemic-side-effects-earth-day-coronavirus) as the world goes on indefinite pause. And designers are hoping that this will translate to a lasting paradigm shift industry-wide. “Prior to the pandemic, we were already making moves to significantly reduce our carbon footprint,” says Kelly Sawdon, chief brand officer of [Atelier Ace](http://www.atelierace.com/). “And we’re motivated to weave environmentally conscientious design choices as we redesign safer spaces for guests and staff.”\n\nKennedy, of Parts and Labor, predicts a greater return to nature, sunlight, and fresh air, especially for those confined in big cities. “Hospitality spaces may need to pivot towards a more exterior rather than interior offering,” she says.\n\n**Prepare for a staycation frame of mind**\n\nWe’ve already seen sharp pivots from top-tier restaurants as a result of the pandemic—Eleven Madison Park in New York is currently operating as a soup kitchen, while Alinea in Chicago is serving hundreds of takeout meals per day.\n\nThis shift to a more local mindset will likely continue, says Elizabeth Tilton, founder of hospitality services group [Oyster Sunday](https://www.oystersunday.com/). “Restaurants with huge accolades and international presence rely on tourists and travelers who come to experience that,” she explains. “So they have to completely take that away and ask what it means to feed their neighborhood and to become hyper-local.”\n\nOliver Haslegrave—whose Brooklyn-based firm [Home Studios](https://www.homestudios.nyc/) has crafted some of the borough’s most beloved watering holes, including wine bar June, cocktail nook Elsa, and craft beer enclave Tørst—cautions that the survival of hospitality locales is rooted in more than just consumers flocking back to their favorites. “In these conditions, we need real policy change,” he says. “Bars, restaurants, and hotels have an outsized impact on the vitality and value of their neighborhoods…. Elected officials need to protect these small, independent labors of love, now and forever.”\n\nBut above all, experts share Schrager’s optimistic view that things will eventually return to some form of normalcy—if not a slightly improved version of it. “Hotels are open 24 hours a day, so this is a rare opportunity to undertake certain improvements we are unable to do during normal operations,”says Ari Heckman, cofounder of AD100 firm [ASH NYC](https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/ash-nyc-ad100).\n\n“People will always want to gather, eat and drink, travel, and celebrate,” adds Haslegrave. “I've been rereading *Setting the Table* by Danny Meyer, and he mentions that when we're born we get four gifts: eye contact, a smile, a hug, and some food, and this is the foundation of hospitality. Three out of four are still possible—and all will be eventually.”\n\n"
<https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/6-ways-coronavirus-is-changing-hospitality-design>