Hospitality Meets Healthcare: Examining the Influence of Hotel-Like Attributes on the Patient Experience

At some point in our lives, we’ve all experienced these industries in some form. A routine medical appointment with the awkward paper gown, bland room design, and bizarre artwork on the walls. The late-night visit to see family in the emergency department where the air conditioning seems to run at full capacity regardless of the season, and vending machine meals become the source for dinner. Healthcare experiences are usually paired with a negative narrative.

In contrast, our memories and hotel interactions often center around positive experiences. The weekend getaway in a luxury hotel, the family vacation to explore another country, or an evening out with friends or colleagues at a hotel’s restaurant. Hotels set the stage for life’s celebrations, special events, business conferences, and personal travel and we tend to associate hotels with beautifully designed settings and services that will provide us with a level of comfort and respite… and there’s a reason for that. Although the hospitality industry is known for having stylish spaces, they are more focused on creating positive guest experiences. It’s a simple, but powerful goal that requires skillfully integrating a variety of design tools to create spaces that leave a lasting impression.

Healthcare facilities overlap with hospitality in their operational requirements, but unlike hotel guests, patients typically experience physical discomfort and are in a vulnerable and stressed state. As healthcare evolves, more attention is being placed on wellness and holistic care, emphasizing the value of creating settings that provide comfort and support for patients. More and more, healthcare facilities are taking their design cue from the hospitality industry to improve patient recovery. Here are a few attributes to consider when designing for patient well-being.

These design tools are becoming more widely known, and for good reason. Both color and lighting influence our moods and can be leveraged to either soothe or stimulate – a design hack effectively used by the hospitality industry as a way of taking us on our journey from day to evening and one experience to the next. Shades of blues and greens, for example, maybe more popular for their calming effect, a desirable trait for the anxiety-filled patient, but red hues have been known to increase appetite, which is helpful if a patient isn’t eating.

Without lighting we don’t have color, making lighting, both natural and artificial, equally if not more vital to space design. Hotels skillfully leverage the use of both natural and artificial lights in spaces, integrating a variety of lights, color temperatures, and dimmers to create the desired mood of space at various times throughout the day.

In healthcare environments, these same principles can be applied. Serene spaces with lower lighting can help patients obtain needed rest, and natural light can also serve as a mood booster, helping to lift the spirit of patients. Incorporating lighting layers paired with dimming capabilities in healthcare spaces can provide the needed flexibility to adjust the lighting up or down as required. And enough can’t be said for the benefits of natural light, so opportunities to harvest daylight or incorporate windows can be equally instrumental to patient recovery. Windows can also serve as a visual connection to nature, which brings us to biophilia.

We typically associate biophilic design as incorporating plants and greenery into an interior space, and while that’s certainly part of it, biophilia is more encompassing than that, and was initially described as ‘human’s innate attraction to all that is alive and vital’. Hotels have harnessed this tool in the form of dramatic water features in their lobbies and spas, as well as incorporating live trees and natural materials into dining spaces and accommodations. Biophilic design has been linked to improved health and wellness, valuable traits when we consider patient recovery and well-being.

Though perhaps not as obvious, sound and acoustics are critical components of the design of a space. Hotels regularly consider the adjacencies of spaces and acoustical requirements that will be needed based on the room utilization and associated sound and noise levels for each. Good sound insulation can help alleviate unwelcome noise and create a better environment for quality rest, a key factor in wellness and recovery. While noise can be irritating for any person, it is especially agitating to patients who are already experiencing anxiety and stress, and even more challenging for patients who have dementia or cognitive decline. This can be tricky with the many beeping machines and overhead paging systems prevalent in healthcare facilities, but worth examining for solutions. Proper sound insulation can also help with speech privacy, an important consideration in designing any space but especially within healthcare where personal and confidential information is often openly discussed.

On the flip side, sounds in the form of music can motivate physical movement as well as a forum to express feelings. Finding opportunities to incorporate music for patients to listen to can be beneficial to their recovery.

Hotels are known for the list of services and amenities that are available to guests as part of their stay. These options may include a choice of restaurants, in-room dining, spa treatments, or something more basic, like the temperature of the room. Even if these amenities aren’t utilized, having the option to make the choice can feel luxurious.

For many patients, the feeling that they are not in control is already present simply by being ill. This feeling can be further compounded by their environment. Patients are rarely given choices, even with something as simple as the time of a meal or the menu selection. But what if a patient could order food at any time, or adjust the temperature of their bed to increase their comfort? Allowing patients to regain some sense of control over their choices can be extremely beneficial with improving their overall experience, allowing them agency to make comfort-related decisions independently and on their own time.

Like in hotels, great healthcare design lies in the designer’s ability to empathize with the needs of the end-users and to provide patients with an experience filled with comfort and support. Our knowledge continues to grow as new research becomes available, technology is advanced, and new materials and tools become accessible to help push design possibilities forward. It is the unique privilege of designers to create spaces that shape experiences, form memories, and improve patient recovery and our overall well-being.