5 Design Experts Share Challenges Facing the Hospitality Sector

“We’re maneuvering through an era of economic uncertainty. Client fees persistently remain stagnant or have even decreased. Simultaneously, we grapple with tight deadlines for design deliverables, often conflicting with our clients’ financial projections. Despite leveraging technological tools for furniture, fixtures, and equipment management, the human element continues to introduce a significant margin of error into our data.” —Mrinal Suri, HBA International

“Longer lead times and rising costs on all products, plus fluctuations in the economy leading to currency conversion changes.” —Paul Morissette, CHIL Interior Design

“Domestic production of materials and products is still a struggle in some areas, which is disrupting leads times and project timelines. Financing in general is a big struggle right now.” —Barbara Best-Santos, Hart Howerton

“We’re hoping A.I. can help in streamlining design elements that have duplication or repetitiveness, such as hotel or residential units.” —Nicole Smith, TVS 

“One of the biggest practice issues in hospitality is evolv­ing and enhancing culture. The pan­demic changed how we work, where we work, how frequently we travel, and many of the expectations from the company, our clients, and our team. As we refine what that is, we’re recon­sidering every aspect of what it’s like to work with us (as a client and as a team member) through every phase of a project.” —Ron Swidler, The Gettys Group Companies