Hotel Entrance, Lobby & Front
Office Equipment
A. Layout
B. Front Office Equipment (nonautomated, semi-automated &
automated)
Welcome to a
new learning
session!
Knowledge is Money.
What is a Traditional Lobby?
• A lobby is a room in a building used for entry
from the outside. Sometimes referred to as
a foyer, reception or an entrance hall, it often
is a large, vast room, or complex of rooms (in
a theatre, opera, concert
hall, showroom, cinema, etc.) adjacent to
the auditorium.
• It is a repose area for spectators, and place of
venues, especially used before performance,
and during intermissions, but also as a place
of celebrations or festivities after
performance.
A lobby must have an eye appeal, because all visitors
enter a hotel from this area.
Power Lobby
• Many office buildings, hotels and skyscrapers go
to great lengths to decorate their lobbies to create
the right impression and convey an image. This is
known as a "power lobby".
• Since the mid-1980s, there has been a growing
trend to think of lobbies as more than, just ways
to get from the door to the elevator, but instead
as social spaces and places of commerce. Some
research has even been done, to develop scales,
to measure lobby atmosphere, so as to improve
hotel lobby design.
An example of a Power Lobby
Lobby
Ready for a VIP Welcome
Lobby Layout
Lobby Layout
Lobby Layout
The layout of the hotel lobby design is one of the most
important aspects of its interior design. The layout is
basically a blueprint of all the physical elements of
design, and where they will be put in the lobby.
This depends on the circulation space, and the
estimated number of people that would be using the
lobby at any given time.
The layout of a hotel lobby is supposed to be designed
around the circulation (movement) space, as it needs
to look wide and spacious.
All the furniture is almost always side-lined, with a large
space in the middle, for the easy movement of guests
and management alike.
The wide, open space for circulation area in a hotel
lobby, with desks on the side- lines.
Back Office
Area
Front Desk
Circulation Area
The Reception
• The main feature of any hotel lobby design, the
reception always needs to be an impressively
designed formation.
• The image of the reception is quite possibly the
defining impression of all of the hotel as a whole.
The main component of a reception is the desk
and its back wall. Both of these need to be
designed in an alluring(attractive) fashion.
• The back wall may even be embossed with the
name of the hotel.
An interesting design on the back wall of the
reception desk, Hilton Hotel
That is the back wall of a spa reception, with the
name of the spa embossed on it.
The Waiting Area
All hotel lobby designs have a waiting area. These
are not overly large or all encompassing – just a
small part of the overall interior, sometimes
designed in an alcove, other times designed along
the sidelines. The furniture of the hotel waiting,
always follows the general colour and lighting
scheme of the lobby as a whole.
The waiting can also be a follow-up counterpart of
the reception desk – with both on opposite ends
of the hotel lobby with ample amount of
circulation space in between.
Seating space, in the lobby of an
Intercontinental group hotel.
Seating arrangement, opposite to the
Reception Counter
Lobby Design, with a central theme.
What is alcove design?
• ˈalkəʊv/
• a recess (a small space created by building part
of a wall further back from the rest) in the wall
of a room or garden.
• synonyms:
recess, niche, nook, opening, bay, hollow,
cavity, corner, indentation, booth
The final image of a hotel lobby design
• The final image of any hotel lobby design needs to seem
holistic. The overall design needs to look cohesive, so
even when you design each part – the layout, reception,
and the waiting – as individual elements of the lobby,
there always needs to be some visual anchor (connecting
theme or idea) between all of them.
• Of course the visual dynamic also has to project a
charisma that attracts the guests and leaves a good first
impression, so careful contrasting of all design elements –
colours, materials and lighting – is a must.
Important Areas of the Hotel Entrance & Lay-out
Main Door
Travel Desk
Cloakroom
Business centre
Bell Desk
Guest Elevator
Left Luggage Room
Security Desk
Front Desk
(Reception,
Information and
Cash & Bills)
Service Elevator
Lobby Lounge
Self Check-In
Terminal
Concierge
Parking Elevator
Lobby Bar
Fitness Centre &
Spa
Lobby Manager
Desk
Washroom for
Gentlemen
Lobby Patio
Concessionaires
(Book, Gift,
Handicraft,
Boutique)
Money Changer
Ante Room
Hospitality or Guest Washroom for
Guest Relations Executive, in conversation with
guests.
Lobby Entrance
The Bell Desk is located near the main entrance, so
they can quickly reach for luggage assistance, when a
vehicle enters the hotel portico. They also have to
keep an eye on scanty baggage guests, and
suspicious people.
Parking Elevators, from the basement of the hotel building
Capsule elevators add to the appeal of the hotel lobby
Service elevator, used for luggage
transfer and room service. It is
rugged in design for high use.
Lobby bar
Lobby Bar
Banquet Ballroom for welcome & reception.
Lobby Patio, outdoor view
Patio is a roofed structure,
but one side is open. Just
like a veranda.
Gift shop in the lobby, (concessionaire)
Business Centre
Cloak room, for depositing coats, bags etc.
Wash room
Lobby Rest room, (wash room,
Toilet, Powder room)
powder room
Is a euphemistic
term. Used for
women’s toilet
in a public
building.
Important Areas in Back Office, (Not directly visible
to visitors)
Safety Lockers
Back Office
Telephone Operator & EPABX
Meeting Room
Reservation
Office
Parlour Room
Secretary to FOM
Reservation
Manager
FOM office
Revenue Manager
Meeting Room
Parlour Room, has space for seating,
but no beds.
Parlour Room
Hotel Lobby Layout- Design Considerations
1. Proper space utilization for working effectively.
2. Improve efficiency and control of the staff
3. Front Desk should be prominently located, overlooking
the main entrance.
4. Aesthetically appealing and comfortable for the
visitors.
5. Bell Desk should be near the entrance to keep an eye
on all visitors in order to offer quick assistance and also
for security reasons.
6. A Lounge to act as a peaceful waiting area.
7. All guest contact sections of Front Office should be
strategically located in the lobby .
Principles of Facility planning
An ideal facility (building);
Should serve in achieving the long-term goals of
the Organization.
Should be really needed.
Should be financially feasible.
Should fulfil the needs of the intended user.
Should be in harmony with local community &
law of the land.
Should be sustainable in long-run.
Easy and cheap to maintain.
Suitable for expansion plans in future.
Hotel Lounge
Lounge
• lounge
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laʊn(d)ʒ/
Verb
lie, sit, or stand in a relaxed or lazy way.
"several students were lounging about, reading papers"
synonyms: laze, lie, loll, lie back, lean back, recline, stretch
oneself, drape oneself, relax, rest, repose, take it easy, put
one's feet up, unwind, luxuriate; More
Noun
a public room in a hotel, theatre, or club in which to sit
and relax.
"the hotel has a pleasant lounge and bar"
synonyms: public room, sitting room, common
room; cocktail lounge
"the hotel has a lounge, TV room, and cocktail bar"
Lounge
Departments\Sections in Lobby
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Front Desk- Reception, Information, Cashier
Bell Desk
Concierge
Hospitality Desk (Guest Relations Executive)
Travel Desk
Business Centre
Lobby Manager’s Desk
Lounge & Lobby Bar
Front Office- Back Offices
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Reservation
Communication (Telephones, FAX & EPABX)
Safety Lockers
Left Luggage Room
FO Manager’s Office
Back Office
Atrium Design in Lobby
Atrium
Atrium Design
• NOUN
• 1 Architecture
An open-roofed (“no roof”) entrance hall or
central court in an ancient Roman House.
• Synonyms
• 1.1 A central hall in a modern building,
typically rising through several stories and
having a glazed roof.
Compilation & Presentation
Praveen Jha
Senior Faculty
IHM Hajipur
Vaishali, Bihar