There is perhaps no industry more competitive than the hospitality one, with hotels, eateries, and venues all vying for visitors to book up for the first time or to keep returning as loyal customers for years to come.
In order to stay one step ahead, it means looking for new and exciting ways to perfect branding, market new offerings, and elevate hotel or property designs to attract attention with eye-catching ideas. While water installations have been viewed as a luxury addition across hospitality venues for years, looking for innovative designs are worth always considering.
Whether it’s investing in Compass Swim Spas or quirky indoor fountains, upgrading water features can have practical, aesthetic, and profit-boosting benefits. They are also universally popular and healthy options so giving them the extra attention they deserve can result in more footfall. Let’s dive in to find out more…
Universal Appeal of Water Features
Dating back to the ancient civilisations of Greece, Egypt and Rome, the origin of water features and fountains have been a symbol of wealth through the ages. This is especially true within the realms of architecture and, looking back to Mesopotamia, these earliest regions harnessed the power of water in building design, giving the world their first decorative water features. Early on, they also knew the value in combining the functionality of sharing water as a natural resource of water with the beauty of its appearance.
Today, across the hospitality industry, the natural health and vitality of water and its benefits and attraction to guests is well known. Hoteliers are constantly seeking new ways to differentiate themselves by combining water features within innovative designs in main lobby areas and key rooms have emerged as a powerful tool.
Whether a hotel has a spa, pool, water fountain, or water slide, these attractive design features all work well to attract more guests in a competitive sector. Water features have transcended their traditional decorative role to become sophisticated design elements that communicate a hotel’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, and guest experience.
Recognition of Water as a Precious Commodity
Across the hospitality sector, sustainability is a growing concern and it’s important for hotels and resorts to incorporate eco-friendly practices across any of their aquatic designs. Being able to highlight that your hotel values water preservation and has proven sustainability credentials is a fantastic way to market a venue, attract eco-conscious guests, and make a contribution to tackling climate change, negating the impact of tourism on the planet.
Meanwhile, venues recognise that there is a wider issue regarding water scarcity across the hospitality industry. According to the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, a hotel can use an average 1,500 litres per room per day which can vastly exceed that of local populations in water-scarce destinations. In some locations, tourism uses over eight times more water per person on average than the local population. Even hotels in regions with plenty of water could be having an impact when sourcing products or services from water-scarce locations.
With this in mind, water features can also be used as potential platforms for demonstrating their environmental responsibility to attract visitors with a preference for ecotourism. Hotels can be mindful about adopting sustainable strategies, such as:
- Rainwater harvesting systems integrated with decorative water elements
- Closed-loop water recycling technologies
- Use of native, water-efficient landscaping around water features
- Solar-powered pumping and filtration systems
- LED lighting for energy-efficient illumination of water displays
In fact, the ongoing demand for being led by nature with sustainable designs has also seen hotels incorporate recirculation systems, plants, and local stone or natural limestone tiles, together with materials that help to minimise water consumption. By implementing these technologies, hotels can transform water features into sustainability statements.
Unique Aquatic Features and their Health Benefits
Exterior water features such as water gardens have been popular in the UK since the 17th century. They are functional and stunning, serving multiple purposes beyond visual attraction. Carefully designed garden fountains and water walls are perfect for creating a calm and inviting first impression when visitors arrive and for a hotel or other venue in a not so pretty or busy urban environment, water features can be a distracting point of visual interest. The key benefits of incorporating fountains in hotels and resorts, include:
- Visual appeal: adding elegance, and helping to establish a unique property identity
- Calm inducing: promoting relaxation, stress reduction, and a guest enhanced experience with a tranquil atmosphere
- Improved air quality: by generating negative ions and supporting local wildlife by providing a water source
- A place to gather: spaces that encourage guest interaction and can serve as stunning backdrops for events
- Enhanced value: fountains can increase business property value, attract more guests, potentially command higher room rates, and serve as effective marketing tools through visually appealing imagery
Meanwhile, water features in spa environments are no longer just aesthetic – they’re therapeutic. Cutting-edge pool designs now incorporate infinity edges, natural influences, and integrated technology that allows for temperature control, lighting effects, and even mood-based ambiance settings. Modern innovative spa designs might include:
- Hydrotherapy pools with targeted massage features
- Meditation fountains that create sensory relaxation experiences
- Natural stone water walls that provide visual and auditory tranquility
- Sustainable water circulation systems that minimise environmental impact
These wellness-focused aquatic designs directly contribute to guest wellbeing, positioning the hotel as an incredible eco-conscious and healthy setting to stay at time and time again.
Biophilic Water Designs that Bring Nature Inside
Known as biophilic design, bringing nature into hotel environments has risen as a design trend in recent years with hoteliers eager to enhance their venues into more natural and inviting spaces. They can also demonstrate a commitment to landscape design and environmental aesthetics with aquatic influences and features that are based around the principles of biophilic design.
In addition, guests appreciate the efforts in interiors to bring nature inside and enhance feelings of wellbeing. For instance, running water and its appearance in well-designed furnishings provides a relaxing ambience and hotels and venues are selecting water features to reap the mood-boosting effects of water. As well as feeling calmer near water, blue therapy and the soothing sound of running water is well documented. More than just appealing and relaxing, water features can also double up as a natural sound dampener in noisy rooms, and across internal and external spaces.
Boosting Your Hotel Brand and Profits
In essence, water features or various designs and fountains transform hotel settings from mundane to magnificent, offering a multi-faceted enhancement to the guest experience. From elegant garden installations to sophisticated pool designs and eco-friendly environments, aquatic elements are integral to a hotel’s overall brand identity.
They also offer more than just aesthetic appeal—they represent a strategic investment in ambiance and overall guest satisfaction. Water features offer tangible and intangible returns, including:
- Enhanced guest perception of luxury and attention to detail
- Increased social media visibility
- Potential for higher room rates in premium segments
- Improved guest satisfaction and potential repeat bookings
- Differentiation in competitive hospitality markets
Water features have transformed from mere decorative elements to strategic assets in hospitality design. They represent a sophisticated intersection of aesthetics, sustainability, guest experience, and brand communication. As the hospitality industry continues to evolve, water will remain a crucial design element—not just as a visual component, but as a dynamic, functional, and experiential medium.
Hotels with unique water features can position themselves at the forefront of innovative, guest-centric design. By approaching these installations with creativity, technological awareness, and environmental consciousness, they can create remarkable aquatic experiences that resonate with today’s health and eco-conscious guests.