The latest luxury hotel design trends have guest rooms and lobbies shifting away from sleek, minimalist décor and toward an aesthetic that’s, well, more home-y. As a hospitality photographer who gets to spend my days capturing suites in some of North America’s most popular luxury hotels, I thought I’d share how this design trend is showing up uniquely for different brands—and how my team and I really let it shine in photographs.
So, what are some of the stand-out ways hotels are evoking that home-away-from-home feeling?
The luxury hotel trend: A home away from home
Colours and textures
Where walls and sheets were once adorned with shades of gray, white and maybe soft blues, what I’m photographing these days at many hotels in the Marriott, Ritz Carlton and Naturally Pacific Resort brands, for example, is rich, earthy browns and greens. Think terra cotta, copper and sand as well as olive, aloe and forest green.
Furniture and flooring
I like a good reading chair, one that’s leather and might even have just a hint of wear at the arms when you settle in with your newspaper and first morning coffee. At a few recent hotel shoots, I’ve noticed the ‘living room effect’ on sofas, chairs and coffee tables in rooms, lobbies and restaurants. In addition to earthy hues, the textiles are natural too: leather, wood, linens—some with simple patterns and some more intricate and nature inspired.
Plants
Seeing the little leaves of pothos dangling from a windowsill or the flowers of a peace lily plant at the edge of a desk somehow instantly softens the mood. More and more luxe resorts and hotels are bringing in houseplants like succulents to help guests feel even more welcome and relaxed—and embrace the wellbeing benefits of being near plants.
Now, if you’re staying at a property like St. Regis or a Ritz Carlton, you’re also apt to find a grand bouquet of fresh flowers on the table—and we all know how uplifting flowers can be.
Wallpaper
I’ve recently had the chance to photograph a few stunning hotels, and I was captivated by the wallpaper choices—many of them featured delicate metallic flecks that beautifully catch and reflect the light, adding a touch of elegance and warmth to each space.
Area rugs
It used to be that when it came to carpet, hotels went for the most neutral, durable carpeting out there. One of the most noticeable ways the residential look is showing up in hotels is with carpets and even area rugs that have interesting, detailed patterns.
How the residential aesthetic is showing up for different luxury hotel brands
At some hotels, the décor caters less to trends and more to a unique audience. For example, at the Mandarin Oriental in New York, I think we’ll always see bold shades of red and gold in the colour palettes of those rooms.
I also recently shot a hotel that’s popular for hosting East Indian weddings and the ballroom was just so vibrant, a really stunning show of purple and gold.
How do different luxury hotel brands guide what you can do in their photography?
I’m so proud to be among the select group of photographers approved by Marriott International to photograph their hotels and resorts—and I know their guidelines well. Can my stylist and I bring in a plant or a rug that would never otherwise be there to shoot a hotel room? For Marriott, their policy is that guests only see in photographs what they will actually see in a room.
On other hotel shoots, however, my stylist and I—or the hotel’s team of stylists (sometimes with props filling an entire ballroom)—have the green light to add all manner of décor and accents just for the shoot.
A few recent hotel vignettes from a hospitality photographer who loves the cosy aesthetic
My approach is less is more: Take 20 stunning images planned with incredible care instead of 100 that are so-so. Toward the end of the shoot, if we’re through our must-do list and there’s still time, I love to capture what we call ‘vignettes.’ In this new home-away-from-home vibe, here are a few shots of recent vignettes:
One thing we hospitality photographers know for sure, though, is that culture changes and design changes—and in a decade or so, we’ll be back to capture how bold and forward-thinking hotels are restyling the next latest thing.