6.

Hotel design & renovation

Renovation definition
Although there is no universally accepted definition in the literature, renovation may be defined as “the process of
retaining or improving the hotel image by modifying the tangible product, due to a variety of reasons, through any changes
in the hotel layout (e.g. property structure-new extension) and/or any additions or replacement of materials and furniture,
fixture and equipment.’’
list many different reasons why renovation is essential to hotel operations. For instance:
•
to keep up with the competition;
•
to maintain or increase market share by satisfying current or potential customers;
•
to improve the operational efficiency of the hotel that will lead to an increase in both productivity and long-term
savings in operational expenses;
•
to maintain corporate image and standards;
•
to upgrade the hotel to a higher category (e.g. from four-star to five-star);
•
to comply with the new trends and technology in the market (e.g. the green movement);
•
to cope with the governmental requirements (e.g. The Americans with Disabilities Act in USA); and
•
to recover from natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes.

Types of renovation
There are few attempts in the literature to classify different types of renovation. Most of these use time intervals (to
determine the frequency of renovation periodically) and the amount of work involved with each type as the main
dimensions of their classifications (Lodging Hospitality, 1994; Aeberhand, 1995). Renovation types are classed as minor,
major, and master renovations. While there seems to be an agreement between them on the time dimension, there is some
disagreement on the second dimension (the amount of work), which further complicates the situation. Stipanuk and
Roffmann (1996) take a different approach by using the spatial change
and/or the additions or replacement of materials as criteria in classifying renovation as minor, major, and restoration.
However, we believe that time should be omitted from any definition or classification criteria because the frequency of
renovation work depend on many other variables (such as changes in market conditions, hotel performance, legal and
insurance standards, etc.) which do not always rely on time.
Thus, the Stipanuk and Roffmann classification is utilised in this paper with a slight modification which is the addition
of hotel image as a third dimension and renaming the third type of renovation as “master”, instead of “restoration”.
Accordingly, the following three types of renovation can be identified:
(1) Minor renovation. This refers to replacement or renewal of some nondurable furnishings (e.g. carpeting) and finishes
within a space without changing the space’s use or physical layout in order to maintain the hotel image.
(2) Major renovation. This refers to replacement or renewal of all furnishings, equipment and finishes within a space, in
order to partially improve the hotel image, which may include extensive modifications to the physical layout of the
space and/or upgrading the former systems (mechanical or electrical).
(3) Master renovation. This is more comprehensive than major renovation and involves the entire property in order to
change partially or totally the hotel image, especially in order to breathe new life into these hotels (i.e. new
extension).