Effects of creative and innovative interior designs on the hotel image of rated hotels in narok town.

Abstract

The project attempted to unveil how the conscious use of interior design in hotels environment can build a good hotel image, consequently leading to a successful business. The hotel industry in Kenya and the rest of the world is a highly competitive one, which heavily relies on its interior beauty to attract and retain its customers. In order to meet this, many hotels adopt various interior designs in order to make their premises become places of preference and recognition both locally and internationally. Literature revealed that trending interior design attributes such as more colour and texture than pattern, blurring of the indoor and outdoor and adoption of local arts and themes enhances the hotel’s image. Narok is a fast growing town with an equally fast expanding hotel industry. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of creative and innovative interior designs on hotel image of rated hotels in this town. The specific objective of the study were; to investigate the impact of themes and local arts in building a good hotel image, to explore the various blurring indoor – outdoor boundaries that can be incorporated to build a good hotel image and to examine the impact of decorative schemes in building a good hotel image. This study employed a descriptive research design. The study population size was 67, the respondents being 2 hotel managers and 65 guests on that day. The two hotels namely, Seasons and Chambai were selected through purposive sampling since they are rated and attract large number of customers compared to other hotels in Narok town. These hotels were deemed to have invested heavily in interior design due to their class. The 65 guests were selected through simple random sampling. This was adopted in order to give every guest the probability of inclusion in the sample. The data was collected using questionnaire. The data was then analyzed using descriptive statistics that is percentages and frequencies with the help a computer program Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study concluded that creative and innovative interior design is a very crucial in building a good hotel image. The following recommendations were made based on the findings: - that hotels use more of local materials in their interior design as they are available and cost effective, that hotels keep up with trends in the hospitality industry such as blurring of the indoor and outdoor boundaries and use of more colour and texture to pattern and that hotels be eco conscious and preserve the environment in all ways possible. The research has suggested that further research be conducted in the following areas: - the Perceptions of Hotel Users towards Interior Designs in the Hotel Industry, key determinants of adoption of interior design in the hotel industry, conceptualizing Interior Designs, trends and Factors Influencing Provision of Quality Designs for the Hotel Industry or adopting Interior Designs: Challenges and opportunities for Hotel Proprietors.