It’s About Time For A Look Inside Best Western Premier Hotel That Will Be Open In Eastgate Saline Next Spring

Janet Deaton, Emily Uphaus, and Mark Kuykendall discuss interior design for Best Western Premier hotel in Saline
Saline Journal publisher Janet Deaton meets with Emily Uphaus of Innerspace Design and Mark Kuykendall of Saline Lodging Group to discuss interior design for local Best Western Premier hotel. © 2018 d2 Saline, All Rights Reserved. USA

In the spring of 1987, automotive industry expert David Cole spoke to a Business School audience at the University of Michigan about the ridiculous inattention that car makers were paying to interiors. [1]

“They put their best engineering and senior creatives on what the other guy sees when you’re out on I-94,” he observed. “But what do you see? Ninety-five percent of your ownership experience is spent looking at the dashboard and the radio and the armrests and power window switches.

“The last things that goes into the design plan. Who’s in charge of that? The kid they hired out of college six months ago. What are his instructions? ‘Use as many components as you can here from other cars we’re already making.'”

As discussed last August with Saline Journal, things are completely different now. Today, “more and more, the interior systems are viewed as product differentiators.” Interior design is that important. [2]

Up until now, Saline residents have viewed the coming Best Western Premier hotel in much the same way as “the other guy” in the David Cole story recalled above. A large number of our population will never set foot inside; no reason to. Some will come for functions, get together with clients or friends in the bar, eat in the restaurant — perhaps even regularly. Fewer still will see the inside of a guest room, other than maybe to preview accomodations in advance of wedding party or corporate function booking. [3,4,5,6,7]

Hotel industry experts understand that the biggest impact any property such as this will have on the community of which it is a part will necessarily comes through those who will come and stay there. Those first impressions and lasting experiences will determine their local spending habits, return stays, and word-of-social-media takes on “Saline.” [8]

“You need to have the foundation set and the walls where they need to go before you can start putting anything in place inside,” said Mark Kuykendall, managing partner for developer Saline Lodging Group. “But we’ve been thinking inside almost as long, maybe just as long as outside.

We were thinking about it even before we partnered with Best Western. One of the reasons we chose them was because they had an understanding of this piece, and they had resources to help us get to where we wanted to be.

Saline Journal has independently validated the rightness of this course through our own visits to Best Western Premier properties in Southfield and Cincinnati. [9,10]

In addition to Best Western corporate, Saline Lodging Group has retained Innerspace Design of Ann Arbor, as we mentioned in our published update here last month. Value-addeds from their early-on involvement can already be seen in the bar, for example, where key elements were repositioned and resized to reflect newly appreciated customer dynamics. Correction: Such changes will never be seen, since they were made before expensive physical commitments were made during construction. [11,12,13]

During a meeting at Saline Journal offices earlier this week, Innerspace Design project manager Emily Uphaus and Mark Kurkendall talked about key elements of the direction they’ve set. The general feel will be European-industrial, balancing the history of this community and important international manufacturers rooted here.

“We’ve settled on at least two strong elements for photography that you’ll see on the walls,” Mr Kuykendall said. “Automotive is important. I think that could include the Model T and muscle cars, certainly. But also closer heritage, like the Tucker from Ypsilanti. Then, all the way to NAVYA — one of the shuttles they’re making here in Saline right now. [14,15,16,17]

You should also recognize ‘Saline’ landmarks on the walls. Downtown, certainly. But what about the train station? We have parks. I’d like to see some of that with events, like the =Celtic Festival on the walls. [18,19,20]

Ms Uphaus anticipated completing her own orientation on Saline cum Saline Lodging Group particulars by year-end. “My personal goal is to have an overall plan and details on paper in early January,” she said. Clearly, Innerspace Design intends to deliver an interior on par with what Peters Building is doing with the foundation and exterior. [21]

Photography is as far as the parallel will go to the automotive industry of three decades past. There is no junior-league hand-off in the Gantt chart for our Best Western Premier hotel.

References

  1. David E Cole: Inducted 2013” Automotive Hall of Fame.
  2. ‘Smart’ Automobile Interiors That You’ll Experience On Future Roadways Are Being Developed Today in Saline, Michigan” Dell Deaton (August 30, 2018) Saline Journal.
  3. Best Western Premier” Best Western Hotels & Resorts.
  4. Saline’s Demographics” Saline.
  5. Today Will Be Remembered As Day Eastgate Saline Skyline Changed Forever, With The Hotel Now In Sight” Dell Deaton (June 26, 2018) Saline Journal.
  6. Progress Report On Saline Hotel: Take Note Of Visible Transitions Now In Anticipation Of Completion Date” Dell Deaton (September 18, 2018) Saline Journal.
  7. Progress Report On Saline Hotel: Negotiations Are Now Taking Place To Book Groups In Anticipation Of 2019 Opening” Dell Deaton (November 14, 2018) Saline Journal.
  8. Lasting Impressions — Hotel Interior Designs” Elisabeth Fischer (May 22, 2011) Hotel Management Network.
  9. I Spent the Night at a Best Western Premier Right Here in Michigan” Janet Deaton (January 1, 2018) Saline Journal.
  10. Cincinnati Best Western Premier has a Lot of Great Style Cues from Which Saline Could Draw for Our Hotel” Janet Deaton (May 24, 2018) Saline Journal.
  11. Best Western Hotels & Resorts (home page).
  12. Innerspace Design (home page).
  13. Opinion: Contractors Need to Learn that Interior Designers Don’t Just Play with Fabrics …” Katy Phillips (March 20, 2018) Hotel Designs.
  14. See an Original Tucker ’48 Motorcar on Display at Gilmore Car Museum” Dell Deaton (September 30, 2013) Saline Journal.
  15. Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum (home page).
  16. NAVYA (home page).
  17. NAVYA Autonomous Vehicle Assembly Operation In Saline Michigan Opened To VIPs And Selected Press For The First Time” Dell Deaton (October 20, 2018) Saline Journal.
  18. Saline Depot Museum” Saline Area Historical Society.
  19. Saline Celtic Festival (home page).
  20. How Much Do You Know About Mounted Equestrian Martial Games Run During Saline Celtic Festival On July 14?” Dell Deaton (July 5, 2018) Saline Journal.
  21. Peters Building (home page).
About Dell Deaton 640 Articles
Editor, Saline Journal