For hotels, their focus is on the guest experience.  From the thread count of the sheets to the paint colors in the room, they go to great lengths to make sure that the guest’s hotel experience is seamless, that their expectation of the hotel is far exceeded.  One of the ways they make sure the guests will never want to leave is by hiring a floral designer who knows how to create floral arrangements that will really impact the guests.

A floral designer plays a key role in how the hotel’s brand standards are conveyed to the guest.  When designing for a hotel there are a few things a floral designer should focus on so that their floral arrangements create the biggest impact and evoke emotions within the guest.

The Scale of the Arrangement:

Every hotel’s floral budget is different, as this is determined by their standards.  However, if a floral designer has a small budget to work with then it’s important that they don’t try to stretch the budget out across the hotel, but instead focus on one high traffic area, such as the hotel lobby, and use the entire budget to create a large scale floral arrangement that will draw every eye in the room to it —this works especially well if there is a blank wall behind the front desk.  While the guest is checking in, the arrangement will impact the arrival experience in a positive way.

If the floral budget has more to work with, but still not lavish, then a floral designer should place the majority of the budget in the high traffic area (hotel lobby), but also not leave out details such as elevator banks and the bar if the hotel has one. 

Designs Should Meet Brand Standards: 

While hotel floral designers have a lot of creative freedom when it comes to the design process, it is still important that all their designs meet brand standards.  For example, if the brand standards are “modern”, “luxury” or “classic” then it’s important that the floral designs are reinforcing these standards.  The designs should also reflect what the brand’s message is.  For example, do they want their guests to feel like they are royalty? Then the flowers should have a regal element a guest can feel when looking at them because after all this was the message that was sold to them when they booked this property/brand over the competition.  Ensuring that the floral designs are meeting brand standards and conveying the brand’s message, will create brand loyalty with the guests. 

Designs Transform Space:

Flowers have the ability to transform any space — this can be a magical experience or depending on the floral designer and the designs, overpowering and missing the mark.  It’s important when a floral designer is creating a floral arrangement for a hotel that the arrangement is enhancing and adding to the space and not overpowering and taking away.  The designs should be to scale with the particular area in which flowers are being added.  If there is a large empty wall behind the front desk, then a beautiful 15ft arrangement would work wonderfully, however, if the wall behind the desk is super crowded and busy, then a 15ft arrangement would only make the space more of an eyesore.  The same goes with smaller arrangements in large open spaces, they can often be overlooked and make zero impact on the guest.   A floral designer should walk the hotel and make note of the best areas for each type of arrangement. 

Hotels are looking for a floral designer who will meet and reinforce their brand standards and impact their guests in a positive way.  Keeping the scale of the arrangement, the brand standards, and the space, in mind, a floral designer can create a wonderful experience for the guest. 

If you are a florist looking to get started working with hotels be sure to watch this FREE masterclass to learn more about hotel partnerships.  The class focuses on 3 mistakes florists make when trying to land hotel partnerships and how you can avoid them.  You can also follow along on Instagram @thehotelflorist for more valuable tips for landing and designing for hotel partnerships.