Dedication to the guest experience and a belief that no detail is too small is the inspiration behind the new Four Seasons Research and Discovery Studio – or R&D Studio – a workshop designed for experimentation and play that was unveiled Thursday at the company’s global headquarters in Toronto.
Complete with graffitied walls, communal meeting and workspaces, and multiple testing areas where ideas can be explored in greater context, the R&D Studio is a collaborative workspace where Four Seasons considers everything from table settings and lighting specs to staff wardrobes and bathroom amenities.
“No two Four Seasons properties are the same,” says J. Allen Smith, president and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “So while we draw on our experience from previous projects, all of the decisions we make for each property require careful consideration of what the needs of that particular project are, what the vision of that owner is, and the decisions that we think will best enhance the guest experience in that property. Lots of great ideas will come through the R&D Studio; the space allows us to work through a myriad of options in greater context to identify the best solutions for each specific project.”
From virtual to reality
The R&D Studio includes work areas dedicated to the fundamental touch points that create the Four Seasons guest experience, including the Four Seasons Bed, a fully-functional bar for testing coffee and cocktail equipment, an atelier to sample and model employee wardrobes, and a table-top staging area to experiment with different combinations of glassware, tableware, and cutlery. It also includes a dedicated area to test the scents and aesthetics of bathroom amenities.
The centrepiece of the R&D Studio is a space where Four Seasons builds three- dimensional replicas of guest rooms entirely of cardboard. Designed to scale and customized with beds, closets, end tables, doorways, and chairs all made of durable cardboard, the Modular Room creates the opportunity to manipulate space and test unusual layouts and particularly challenging room designs in cost-effective cardboard before moving into production of a full model room. This allows team members to understand the implications of their decisions, identifying early on in the process what works and what needs further refinement.
Speaking to the importance of the R&D Studio in furthering the company’s commitment to the guest experience, Dana Kalczak, vice president, design, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, explained, “The R&D Studio is a critical tool for us because it allows us to make detailed decisions in a holistic environment. When we bring everything together in this space, we better understand how the different elements energize and inform one another.”
Key to these decisions is recognizing how guest behaviors evolve, and adapting the experience accordingly, added Kalczak. “We use the R&D Studio to explore rooms that can serve multiple purposes – rooms that give our guests greater freedom and control to use the space as they choose. A guest room used to have fixed features – you sleep here, you pour coffee there, you work in one corner and relax in the other. But mobile devices have changed this dynamic. You no longer need to sit at a rectangular wooden desk to ‘work’ – you can just as easily email and take calls from a sofa or from the bed.”