Through this course, I have learned about the importance of reflecting the local area in design decisions.
3 places spring to mind when thinking of this concept:
In particular, the wine cellar at the hotel. The wine cellar is often used for wine tasting and other events. It was used as an air-raid shelter in WWII and much WWII memorabilia can be seen on the way down to the cellar.
The Balmer Lawn Hotel was used in WWI as a hospital and as a training camp in WWII. According to Michael Clitheroe (GM), much memorabilia from WWII was found at the hotel and there are plans to incorporate as much of this as possible into the hotel.
Aspects of the New Forest, where the hotel is based, has also been incorporated into the hotel. The first instance of this is in their logo:
As you can see, the logo has two stags either side with a leaf in the middle. Much of this nature-orientated is present through the rest of the hotel.
This is a B&B which is close to my heart. Located in Invergarry, the hotel is located in amongst the rugged nature of the Scottish Highlands. Much the same as Balmer Lawn Hotel, nature is incorporated into the B&B. Particularly, the well-known stag outside.
It is important to incorporate history and the local area into hospitality businesses as this leads to the guest's belief of authenticity.
Revilla and Dodd (2003) say there are 5 characteristics of authenticity:
- Appearance/Utility
- Traditional characteristics and certification
- Difficult to obtain
- Locally produced
- Low cost
By incorporating history and the local area, businesses can tick off number 3 and 4.
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