HOTEL MODERNISATION

Grey River Argus, 5 March 1937, Page 5

HOTEL MODERNISATION

THE NEW OUTLOOK. Far-seeing folk interested in the building and management of hotels in New Zealand have begun to give good heed to'an old saying: “Times have changed” —but plenty of scope remains for improvement in many cases. The need of meeting the wishes of the modern public was the subject of ar address by a well-known architect, Mr Howard Robertson, at the annual conference of the English Hotels and Restaurant Association. “In the last few years,” he said, “nearly every section of the public has become more exacting. In spite of hard times, standards of living are rising; if not attained, the higher level is at any rate in most people’s minds, and especially where the public is offering a cash consideration for a commodity. “The hotel business, like that of amusement, catering and transport, has to conform with the demand. Modern, isation becomes, perhaps a gesture of love, but certainly one of self-defence. In order to earn more in the future it becomes necessary to spend more in the present. “The hotel business caters for the shelter of men, women and children. The latter category is vocal, but not dictatorial to managers. It can be taken as negligible in the average hotel problem. “The demands of men and women are similar up to a point; but offer their own particular facets. The luxury hotel, for example, will have to bo sharply aware of feminine requirements, the commercial hotel less so. In either ease, however, it is likely that as far as the letting of bedrooms is concerned the male customer is more important than the female, because more bedrooms are let to men than women, so—axiom number one—do not modernise with an eye only on the ladv visitor.

Modernisation comprises two main sections. One embraces overhauling of the general plan, elimination of fundamental drawbacks and disabilities such as bad planning for service, cramped space for public and staff, and generally that wrong disposition of available space which so often is retained through sheer inertia or force of habit. Here spending, in order ultimately to save, sometimes becomes a matter of economic necessity.

“The second section embraces the amenities. It. includes ..examination .of the question of why certain sections of the building planned for a given purpose do not offer a proper return. It involves equipment, furnishing, lighting and decoration generally. This section requires great judgment, into it enters the question of psychology, ojs awareness of present and future trends; bearing in mind always that different classes of custom exist, each with its own set of values

“To commence operations in either section demands adequate preparations. First, the employment of a good consultant, an architect in preference to a decoration firm, because the right architect should understand planning and equipment such as plumbing, heating and lighting, but should also have no financial interest in the sale of materials or furnishing.”