As popular trends continue toward a greener future, plant pots are increasingly introduced into private and public spaces. Now, consumers expect to see some awareness of this fact from interior designers in charge of hotel decor.
Are planters for hotels important?
Using indoor and outdoor planters to decorate various key areas in a hotel is considered one of the most important interior design elements that a hotel owner can implement. The reasons are clear and they include:
- Plants improve guest experience as a passive mood-enhancer.
- Plants make a positive statement about the hotel’s green and sustainable company policies.
- Guests report that seeing plants in website photos is a key motivator to book and stay in a hotel.
- Planters are beautiful works of art and complement the architecture, decor, and gardens of the hotel.
- Plants are necessary to meet hospitality benchmarks and achieve 5-star ratings.
Accommodation without botanical elements is perceived as half-finished, or half the value of its beautiful and green competitors. To stay ahead of the trend, hotels can benefit from following these 5 key concepts:
1. What are the best plants for hotels?
Generally, anything that can grow at home is suitable for a hotel. However, before you confirm your choice in new plants, there are some considerations that you must make:
Care
Plants don’t need round-the-clock care but will look awful if left for dead. If you think you don’t have much time for maintenance then choose plants that are ok with a little neglect. Succulents and cacti are perfect as they accept sporadic watering and low-light conditions.
Allergies
One in five people suffer from hay fever that can be triggered by pollinating plants, grasses, and trees. To keep all your guests happy and healthy stay away from high-pollen producing plants such as orchids, daisies, and lavender. Furthermore, make sure there is enough ventilation in the rooms to mitigate these problems.
Local tradition
Certain plants have great cultural significance and outfitting your hotel with this knowledge will ensure a comfortable stay for people of all backgrounds. For example, in Eastern cultures, the Snake plant is revered as a powerful protector from spirits, while in the west, it is recommended by NASA for its air-purifying capabilities.
2. What styles of planters should I choose?
In terms of planter design, look for pots that follow the principal architecture of the hotel. Some common ones include:
Minimalist
Hotels that are minimalist focus on the less-is-more philosophy. Planters with a minimalist style are sleek with few lines and use colors like gray, black, white, and steel metallics. Accented colors are not useful in this context. Minimalist planters use modern materials like fiberglass and plastic for a flawless finish and build quality.
Chic and Mid-century modern
These design concepts employ mainly soft pastel colors, sleek surfaces, and lots of accessories. The idea is to look professional and exciting. Planters are a great way to introduce accent colors that pop in excitement. Planters are rounded, soft, and unobtrusive. Accessorize with planter stands or hang them from the ceiling to really nail timeless Chic style.
Boho
More informal hotels such as homestays and Airbnbs often look good in Boho style. Planters built with natural materials like rattan, woven seagrass, and metal are iconic of Boho style. Boho base colors are warm browns and earthy greens while accents are electric orange, blue, and purple. Planter shape is not as important as accessorizing the planter with stands, handpainted patterns, or rope hanging baskets.
Industrial
Industrial interior design is the concept of raw beats polished. Walls, pipes, and fittings are exposed to reveal their natural beauty and inner character. Industrial planters are often made from concrete or metal and when left uncoated, they display utilitarian colors such as gray, black, and silver. Planter designs are edgy with block shapes that express functionality rather than elegance.
3. How to decorate your hotel lobby
The hotel lobby is a melting pot of guests and their emotions. As we all know, checking in after a long journey is the last hurdle before the vacation truly starts. This is the space where complaints are handled and emotions run high. A peaceful experience in the hotel lobby is aided by the deployment of planters.
Managing expectations at reception
A hotspot of guest interaction, friction in this area can undermine the quality of the whole stay. Placing small and interesting plant pots on the reception desk will give guests something to look at while the concierge do their thing. A healthy and well-kept plant speaks volumes about the attention to detail and level of care about to commence.
Large planters can be used to outline queuing areas in a natural and modern style. Choosing lightweight materials like fiberglass is important because you might need to move the planters around to find the optimum layout for you and your guests. Fiberglass also withstands a lot of wear and tear and still keeps a flawless finish meaning that you don’t have to worry about your commercial planter looking unprofessional.
Soothing seating areas
Hotel lobbies often include common seating areas for guests to mingle and relax in. Lobbies may even double as restaurants when no other room is available. This is a primetime location for plants to make their impact.
Long and large modern planters are perfect tools to create the borders of this space, while smaller planters can infiltrate the coffee tables and pepper the more intimate spaces with color, character, and style.
Flowers work well in interiors where people congregate as they add natural fragrance and display intricate textures that draw attention. Palm trees are another wonderful tool in setting the holiday tone, though palms require a little extra care.
Garnish the corridors
This includes walkways, lobby entrances and exits, staircases, and waiting areas for elevators. These high-traffic areas are the perfect place to showcase a bit of botanical decor and make the ordinary beautiful.
Plants with thick foliage actually help to dampen sound so are best placed in noisy locations such as next to entranceways and in lobbies.
Add tall pots to the corners of these spaces to draw attention. This will make rooms appear superficially longer, taller, and grander. With lots of interesting features filling boring old walkways and more superficial square meterage, guests will always have the best conditions to relax as they move around the hotel.
Make a grand impression
Holidaymakers who plan their escape from work and from routine want to see something out of the ordinary – something they wouldn’t see at home. The hotel lobby is the ideal location to meet this expectation and show off some crafty interior design skills.
One way to do that is with a ‘living wall’ that consists of ivy-like plants that climb and cover the vertical plane. Ivy league plants such as Hedera helix are perceived as luxurious and elite and are quite easy to grow with indoor lighting and watering systems.
Commercial hotel planters come in some very large sizes and can even be used to host trees and other large plants that are impressive. Use large fiberglass planters for this task instead of heavy materials in the lobby so that you can rearrange your displays easily.
4. How to plant your exterior
Commercial planters for outdoor applications are manufactured with the highest care and quality because the industry knows how effective plants in the right place can be. Outdoor planters are available in a range of shapes, styles, and colors that match any exterior. Here are a few ideas to jazz up your outdoor surroundings:
Garden facilities
When guests make their booking, the hotel’s outdoor facilities are a deciding factor in whether to stay and play or find something else. With the deployment of a few commercial planters, a garden can be created from desert, plain is converted to color, life emerges from boring, and an extra line is added to the list of outdoor amenities.
To create a successful outdoor container garden, use various species of plants to encourage biodiversity including birdlife and butterflies. If you arrange these spaces correctly, guests will flock to take selfies and post on social media meaning more marketing for you for a fraction of the cost.
An outdoor welcome
The front doors of your hotel are the mysterious gateway to relaxation and long-awaited pamperdom. Tall pots are best used on either side of the entrance to welcome guests with a red carpet experience.
Large outdoor planters in this space need to be heavy to stay grounded and avoid being knocked over. This can be achieved using concrete or metal pots, or if you want to use lightweight materials like fiberglass, then put a heavy filler such as rocks inside the pots to weigh them down.
Boost walk-in bookings
The aesthetic intrigue and character created by outdoor planters in the exterior of any property has a huge impact on the impression and perception of potential guests. For hotels that have a lot of walk-in bookings, a beautiful exterior is the invitation that guests need to take action and enter.
With commercial pots available in a variety of styles, hotel management can tune-in to the personality and preference of their target market.
5. Plant decor in hotel bedrooms
Implementing a planter strategy in hotel bedrooms is a necessary but difficult task. Due to the limitations in space and practicality, planters are often left out of intimate spaces. Luxury hotels, however, know that plants punch well above their weight in terms of enhancing guest experience, so they find a way. Here are three:
High and low hotel planters
Using tall planters, planters on stands, or placing planters high on shelves utilizes the vertical space and makes the room appear bigger. Key locations to implement this illusion are the corners of the rooms that may otherwise be hard to fill and look awkward left bare.
Low-height planters or a planter that sits on the floor, coffee table, or desk need to be less obtrusive and less of a grand feature than their large counterparts. Use these little plants to pepper in color. Plants on the floor with long straight leaves are great for drawing attention and pointing out other features such as artwork on the wall above.
Faux for low maintenance
Cleaning hotel rooms in time for new guests is often the biggest challenge for management. Rooms need to have a quick turnover to allow the perks like late checkouts and early check-ins. Use faux plants in your rooms to simplify this task.
Faux plants don’t need water, soil, or light, they don’t induce hay fever or make a mess with their leaves. They only need a little dusting. They will always look fresh and won’t need replacing for years to come allowing your maids to focus on the important details of housekeeping.
Planters for fresh bathroom beauty
The bathroom is unanimously a space for refuge and relaxation. Planters are one of the best ways to address a smelly boring bathroom. Flower pots with colorful and interesting designs add intrigue, while flowers freshen the air and purify it.
Indoor planters such as glass planters look fresh, clean, and modern, especially when using plants that don’t require soil. Using soilless plant varieties also cuts down on the things that can create mess in the bathroom.
Creative Design Manufacturing, along with other industry leaders, offer a range of indoor and outdoor commercial planters that fit areas for any purpose. If you want to know more about how planters can improve your hotel, check out our guide to decorating with large planters for some inspiring tips and tricks.
If you are a hotel owner with a pool, or you have a backyard pool yourself, you need to check out our guide to poolside plants to find out how and why plants can help you.