Why are luxury hotels going lean for the Instagram effect?
- Hotels are being designed with photography uppermost in mind
There is a new look among some luxury hotels, and it is a whole lot smaller – and barer – than it used to be.
It is part of a move towards “lean luxury”, Quartzy’s Rosie Spinks wrote, and while the pared-down room sizes and simplified amenities are cost-conscious decisions, there is another factor at play in the change.
“By cutting back on both the size of the rooms … and some of the more costly amenities of a traditional luxury hotel, hospitality companies can offer better locations, a design-led sensibility with higher quality materials, and an altogether elevated experience – for a pretty damn reasonable price,” Spinks reported. “They also tend to look way better on Instagram.”
The goal with lean luxury hotels, Spinks continued, is to be “far more functional and user-experience-oriented than a standard grand hotel room”.
Instagram effect is clear
The effect Instagram is having on luxury hotels isn’t that surprising when you consider the way it’s changed the way people, many of them millennials, travel at large. As Robb Report previously wrote, people are planning trips around the world specifically for Instagram photos; similarly, some previously under-the-radar destinations – like the blue city in Morocco – are seeing upticks in tourism because they are so Instagram-friendly.
Spinks writes that “clean lines, minimal fussiness, and functional design lead the ethos” when it comes to the look of lean luxury hotels. Much like the New York City penthouse that was designed as a backdrop for Instagram influencers, hotels are being designed with photography uppermost in mind.
In an era where Instagram exposure can bring in enough traction that a luxe hotel in Switzerland was able to eliminate its marketing budget, it’s a logical point for hotels to turn their focus towards.