Materiality Matters: Data-Driven Interiors for Hospitality Design Optimization

Digital technologies are rapidly reconfiguring the servicescape of hotels and resorts and immersive design tools move beyond operational efficiency to become strategic marketing assets. This paper examines “Materiality Matters,” an AI- and AR-enabled platform that allows visualizing and pricing of interior design choices in real-world environments prior to implementation. The aim is to bridge the gap between traditional design methodologies and data-driven, immersive decision-making tools, towards a more informed and engaging interior design journey. The proposed framework aims to address the challenge to transform decision-making processes by enabling realistic and interactive visualization of spatial layouts, furniture, and décor elements within user-defined environments, while simultaneously providing detailed cost projections and data-driven design recommendations. Moreover, the proposed solution aims to optimize the design process and set a foundation for future applications in any industry that demands customized, data-driven, and immersive decision-making tools. This on-going research aims to contribute to the evolving discourse on the intersection of technology and design, offering tangible benefits for improving workflows, reducing costs, enhancing the end-user experience in interior environments, reducing product returns and offering smart, virtual, and applicable solutions. Limitations and future research directions are outlined.