(AG Real Estate) World-renowned architectural company WATG finally in Serbia – realization of BEKO project

The hotel industry in Serbia has traditionally always been at the bottom of the real estate development list. Hospitality projects have been few so far and represent initiatives of only the boldest developers. The development of the BEKO multifunctional complex is commencing. WATG, an outstanding world-class design firm, will play a key role in the development and realisation of that complex. The fact that WATG is designing a hotel project in Serbia will enable the country, and Belgrade in particular, to gain prestigious status on the hotel industry development map.

Of all the areas of architectural design, the hospitality sector is both one of the most glamorous and the most challenging. With its international locations, knowledgeable clients, expert operators and attractive budgets, it would seem to be the ultimate nirvana for the design professional.

Despite being one of the most robust of all sectors of the economy, tourism has grown at an average of 15 percent per year for the past 30 years, the downside of the equation is that the demand for hotel rooms fluctuates with cyclic regularity from too few to too many beds as supply overtakes demand. External factors, such as credit crises, shrinking holiday and business travel, flu outbreaks, local security breaches, and even weather phenomena, affect the type of design and location of the work. However, reduced occupancies do have a positive effect: it enables older properties to undertake renovation work and reinvest tax exempt maintenance funds. So, as the demand for architectural services slows, the demand for interior design services increases.

Winning Rules

New hotel design has another function. It can act as a showcase for national aspirations and cultural awareness. This is especially true in the developing world. A new destination habitually strives to be as modern and up-to-date as the perceived competition, but as that destination matures it tends to focus on finding its own cultural identity.

Because hotels are very much the interface between outsiders and local society, in the mature stage of a destination’s tourism development a hotel’s design is often used to reinforce local culture and national pride. This is in stark contrast to earlier tourism development phases where societies often try to achieve a blend of tradition and modernity which is not always very successful.

While having to respond to the changing investment climate and the need for local identity, the hotel designer has to subjugate any personal design aspirations to remember that the actual client is the future hotel guest and that unlike many building types, there is only one reason to make a hotel: for profit.

The complex nature of hotel development can be seen in the range of design skills required. At a national level, tourism can make a significant contribution to the gross national product and has to be considered at the macro level of transport and job training. At the urban design level, a hotel is a significant entity: its traffic generation, logistics and commercial importance all influence and have an impact upon the surrounding neighborhood.

Architecturally, the hotel has to fulfill its financial investment in both capital and operating costs, while at the same time offer an attractive image which then has to endure for 50 years or more. Such an image can be challenging or conservative according to the vision of the developer and the flexibility of existing planning controls.

From an interior design perspective, there is the same challenging or conservative choice. Although rarely restricted by planning controls, owners and operators usually opt for the latter. Indeed, most of the major hotel management companies have tight restrictions on their in-house image which precludes much deviation from the safe and normal.

The above reasons are probably why there are few hotels that can claim to be in a cutting-edge modern idiom. As the “international” style is driven by the available choice and cost of modern materials rather than local character or identity, modern buildings are becoming as anonymous as modern cars. In a city context, few operators are happy managing a property that is indistinguishable from a neighboring office or other commercial building.