Spatial Design as a Significant Marketing Tool. A Semiological Analysis of the Rejuvenating Process of a Hospitality Environment Case Study

The hospitality industry faces globally a variety of critical challenges and hoteliers search continuously for the best combination of actions to stand out from their competitors. The paper argues that spatial design is among the strongest marketing tools as it can define identity, status, target group, target group satisfaction, personnel attitude, customer behaviour and loyalty. However, spatial design in the hospitality industry is not to be seen as a simple practical process. The whole spatial design process embodies a set of actions that work in parallel to a strategic/marketing plan. Facts and parameters, external and internal factors affecting clientele decisions and the existing situation of the hotel have to be analyzed and investigated. Thus, in an attempt to explore the elements of a successful spatial design process, the presentation illustrates a particular case study of a hotel in Chalkidiki, Greece, as a canvas to explore ways that architectural and interior formal manipulations can be inspired by the reinterpretation of intangible values. A semiological investigation of immaterial issues, such as values, feelings, ideas are expressed by formal manipulations and are connected to the creation of a holistic successful spatial reconfiguration. The present paper analyses the spatial design process based on documentation provided by the hotel and the architectural practice in relation to the planning procedure and its outcome.