Episode
234 | Model Room Mayhem
- Podcast
- Top Floor
- Published
- Mar 10, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1558
- Processing state
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- https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/234
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Summary
Lori Mukoyama is a Design Principal and Global Hospitality Leader at Gensler, shaping hotel experiences across cities from Chicago to Tokyo. With a background in boutique retail and large-scale hospitality design, she focuses on the tactile and emotional details that shape guests' experience of a space. Susan and Lori talk about design details, destination differences, and the future of guest experience. What You'll Learn • What designers actually control in a hotel, from doorknobs to pillows • Why "15 feet and down" shapes the entire guest experience • When hotel design should feel nothing like your own home • How hospitality design differs across the U.S., Latin America, and Japan • Why historic hotel renovations are booming right now • Smart ways brands balance global standards with local culture • How remote work is changing the layout of hotel rooms • Why giving designers time to create a concept story matters • How designing for a "guest muse" transforms spaces and furniture choices • The coming shift toward multi-generational hotel room design • Why sustainability innovation is the hospitality industry's next big challenge *** Our Top Three Takeaways Great hotel design happens "15 feet and down." While architecture shapes the overall building, the details closest to the guest create the emotional experience. Designers focus on the elements people physically interact with — floors, furniture, materials, lighting, and textures — because those are what guests touch, hear, and notice as they move through the space. These tactile details ultimately shape the hotel's feel. Global hotel brands succeed when they combine standards with local culture. Brand standards provide a framework, but the most compelling hotels interpret those standards through local context. Desig…