Hotel Planning and DesignCornell

Certificate Program

Before developers and designers can successfully design a full-service hotel, they must have a strong grounding in foundational concepts relevant to the hospitality industry. These include market segmentation, hotel types and classifications, hotel branding, and the players involved in a typical hotel project.

This course prepares participants for further studies in the specifics of hotel planning by considering how market needs drive the design process, how the "chain scale" system works, how branding decisions affect the planning process, and how successful hotel projects are coordinated.

With extensive experience as a lecturer, researcher, and consultant, Professor Stephani Robson brings hotel planning to life with a wealth of content backed by activities designed to help you embrace and apply these concepts to your next project.

An important aspect of hotel design is the early planning decisions that owners, developers, and designers must make. These include addressing the needs and opportunities of the target market prior to the detailed design of specific parts of a hotel.

This course will prepare participants to contribute effectively to initial decisions relating to full-service hotel planning, helping to ensure that later design decisions will take into account the target customer, the lodging product to be provided, and the associated allocation of space.

Professor Stephani Robson, an expert in hotel planning and design, brings this phase of hotel planning to life with a wealth of content backed by activities designed to help you apply these concepts in practical ways.

The following course is required to be completed before taking this course:

• Foundations of Hotel Planning

Hotel guests base much of their view of a hotel on the design and layout of their guestrooms. To ensure success in a full-service hotel project, developers, designers, and other stakeholders must ensure that floor plans and guestroom designs will meet or exceed the expectations of their target guests.

This course walks participants through the process of developing an appropriate room mix, floor plans, and guestroom designs that will please guests while also returning value for owners or investors. The focus is on design considerations relevant to guestrooms and related areas, not the actual drafting of architectural plans.

Cornell Professor Stephani Robson has many years of experience as a designer, lecturer, and author, and shares her expertise through videos, activities, and tools that will help you apply these concepts to your own situation.

The following courses are required to be completed before taking this course:

• Foundations of Hotel Planning
• Hotel Planning Decisions

The meeting rooms, food and beverage areas, and other public spaces in full-service hotels can be important revenue generators while also attracting new guests and maintaining their loyalty. Hotel planners and designers must carefully consider the needs of their target market and develop public spaces that address those needs.

This course prepares architects, designers, and other project stakeholders to develop planning criteria and come up with appropriate designs for public spaces, from lobbies to meeting rooms, restaurants, and recreational facilities.

Cornell Professor Stephani Robson shares her expertise and enthusiasm for these topics through videos, activities, and tools that will help you apply these concepts to your next project.

The following courses are required to be completed before taking this course:

• Foundations of Hotel Planning
• Hotel Planning Decisions
• Hotel Guestroom Design

Guests may not see much of the “back-of-house” areas of a hotel, but the functions these areas serve are critical in full-service hotels. The rooms division must clean and support guestrooms; the kitchen and wait staff must prepare and serve fine food and beverages; the front office and administration staff must extend hospitality to guests and keep reservation and operational processes running smoothly.

This course takes participants behind the scenes to consider the unique needs of back-of-house areas, discussing a range of principles that will help ensure effective planning for these important functions.

From her wealth of experience as a hotel designer, lecturer, and author, Professor Stephani Robson guides you through a range of videos, activities, and tools that will help you apply best practices to back-of-house design.

The following courses are required to be completed before taking this course:

• Foundations of Hotel Planning
• Hotel Planning Decisions
• Hotel Guestroom Design
• Hotel Public Space Design

Symposium sessions feature two days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The Hospitality Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium, in which we’ll discuss how both day-to-day operations and strategic goal setting in the hospitality sector have rapidly evolved over the past two years, opening up new space for real-time conversations about the future of the industry. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to various areas of the industry, examining the innovations and accommodations you have all had to make throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and strategizing on future directions. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from across the industry.

Upcoming Symposium: April 1 and 2, 2025

• Tuesday, April 1, 2025 11:00AM ET – 1:00PM ET
  • Session title pending
• Wednesday, April 2, 2025 11:00AM ET – 1:00PM ET
  • Session title pending

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.