New hotel design concept

While authenticity and nostalgia are design styles that hotels have been adopting for a while, Dutch hospitality group La Bergère is developing a new hotel in Maastricht, dubbed “Hotel X” for now, that will be decorated with furniture and knick-knacks purchased from ordinary consumers. The underlying concept is described as “style, sex and soup”, stands for design, attraction and authenticity. Hotel X is asking people to rummage through their attics, spare rooms and garages, and offer their unused objects for sale. People can upload a picture of the item they’d like to sell, along with a short description and their asking price. Décor doesn’t get more authentic than that.

This is a brilliant way to not only find remarkable décor, but also generate a huge buzz before the hotel even opens. Moreover, it taps into a very of-the-moment trend by encouraging people to look for cash in the attic (similar to the trend of shopping in your closet). This helps fulfill a recession-induced need for cash, fuelling concepts that help consumers make money instead of just spending it.