Designers Herald a Motel Makeover for Next-Gen Travelers
Photo Caption: Bluebird Spa City Motor Lodge - Saratoga Springs, New York. Source: Lark Hospitality.
Skift Take
Updates to fixtures, furnishings, and food can reinvigorate motels for the next generation. But you need to use a consumer lens, not just a developer's budget, to make the right design choices.
Future of Hotel Design
What you need to know about the look, feel, and functionality of experiential innovation at cutting-edge properties. (See our past stories.)Motels won't go the way of the dodo bird if Lark Hotels founder Rob Blood has anything to say about it.
In just about a year, Blood's boutique brand will have expanded its wingspan with nine properties under a new sister brand, Bluebird by Lark. The brand gives motels and lodges new life with a similar design-forward approach that’s earned Lark a following in California and across the East Coast.
But whereas Lark’s 22 properties feature mostly bespoke accouterments like gilded wallpaper, ornate lighting fixtures, and mosaic tiles in the bathroom, Bluebird strives to be a bit more durable and affordable.
Opened this month, Bluebird Lake Placid in Lake Placid, New York. Photo by Matt Kisaday. Source: Lark Hospitality. Broader TrendBluebird's effort heralds a broader trend of hotel designers and developers attempting to reinvigorate the motel concept for next-gen travelers faces competition. Last month, investors Starwood Capital and AJ Capital launched&
