Consider your hotel room desk lamp. Someone gave that particular lamp a lot of consideration, and it may have been Tiffany Bowling, principal of Massachusetts-based T-Interiors. Bowling was tapped early in her career for W Hotels' first design team. She says Barry Sternlicht, Starwood's president, wanted people who could think outside the box and who weren't specifically trained in hospitality. Today, she runs her own design firm and still does work on hotels, as well as private residences ("We had people calling, saying they'd stayed in a hotel, and they'd liked the look") and corporate office space ("As long as the company doesn't want their office to look like an office"). T-Interiors even finished the Sheraton New Orleans lobby right before Hurricane Katrina struck—and the hotel survived. Executive Travel sat down with Bowling recently to learn how the best hotels are designed.

At what point do you get involved in the design process?
It depends if it's a new build or an existing hotel. When I was on the side of ownership companies, [for an existing hotel] we would hire a design firm as soon as we could, and we would steer them and educate them on the standard look that we wanted that brand to portray. The in-house design team would pretty much steer the overall look and direction, whereas the hired design firm would do the actual footwork—for example, bring together all of the actual fabrics. Everything is approved by the in-house design team. It definitely becomes one very big design team, and I think both parties are very much in control. For a new build, you would bring the design team in right away to work with the architect.

How much of your work is done on guestrooms or public spaces?
I do a lot of guestrooms—I've done fewer public areas. If it's a very large hotel, they renovate in groupings—like they'll only do floors three through nine. They can't close the hotel to renovate it. The hardest thing to do is to renovate the lobby, because of all the traffic. Guestrooms are usually done every five to seven years. For lobbies, they do keep them updated when they do the guestrooms, maybe with some of the chairs. [A full lobby renovation might be] every seven to 10 years.

What is a typical timeline for a project?
Overall, from beginning to end, it could take anywhere from four months to a year, depending on the size of the hotel and depth of design. High-profile hotels' projects—like W—take longer because they pay more attention and time on accessories, all the small stuff. For a hotel with [more properties] and not as high-profile, quantity is more important.

What design trends will travelers see in hotel rooms in the next few years?
Bathrooms are definitely becoming the new, upgraded spa, with shower jets, better tubs—but part of that is because the components out there now are nicer than they ever have been. Also, with lobbies they're pushing to go to an atmosphere that's much smaller. They'll be a place to check in and check out, and they'll have grab-and-go food. It's not necessarily a large space to hang out. And people are working on the electronic check-in—there's definitely an electronic trend.

How has technology—especially wireless—impacted your work?
Technology falls under the operations umbrella. But prior to about eight years ago, for an existing room, we designed around the location of the cable box. Now we don't have to do that—we can put a TV on the wall. Now we can design it for the aesthetic.

Do you travel differently than the rest of us because you're in this business?
Yes, definitely. Now I'll only stay at more current renovated hotels that actually allow you to have the feeling that you're in someone's home. It's stimulating for me to see what other designers have done.

How can you get yourself assigned to a recently renovated room?
Make sure to ask. If the hotel is not filled to capacity, they're happy to put somebody in a recently renovated room. But the rate will probably be a little higher. I like to think it should be worth it.

In search of hip
Stumped on where to find the most chic hotels as you travel? Fret no more: the Hip Hotels series (Thames & Hudson) is here to be your guide. These books, perfectly suited to your coffee table, are your ultimate resources for design-conscious accommodations. Start with Hip Hotels USA, then look for the specifics (Beach, City, Orient, etc.).