OCCA

Luxury today isn't just about finishes or five-star service. Increasingly, it's about belonging.   That's one of the reasons branded residences continue to grow. They offer the comfort, service and operational expertise of a luxury hotel, combined with the permanence of a private home.   The challenge is creating somewhere that feels genuinely rooted in its location, rather than simply carrying a recognisable brand name.   For our latest branded residences concept in Lisbon, that meant taking inspiration from the city itself. The rhythm of the streets, the texture of traditional materials, the warmth of terracotta, the craftsmanship and the quality of light all informed the design from the outset.   The brand should elevate the experience, not replace the destination.   The most successful branded residences don't ask residents to live inside a hotel. They create homes with the standards of hospitality while celebrating everything that makes their location distinctive.   As this sector continues to evolve, I think that's where the real opportunity lies: designing places that deliver international luxury without losing their local identity.

We're growing our procurement team at OCCA and are looking to connect with talented people for two exciting opportunities within our Glasgow studio.   We're currently recruiting for a Project Manager and a Buying Assistant.   Working across hospitality, luxury residential and commercial projects, you'll be part of a collaborative team delivering exceptional interiors for independent clients and global brands across the UK and internationally.   If you're organised, proactive, and passionate about creating outstanding spaces, we'd love to hear from you.   If you're looking for your next opportunity, or know someone who would be a great fit, please get in touch or tag them below.

The clients who get the best results aren't always the ones with the largest budgets. They're the ones who come to the brief with clarity. That sounds simple. In practice it's rarer than you'd think. What I mean by clarity isn't having every answer before the project starts. It's knowing what questions matter. What do you want this space to do for the people inside it? What feeling should it produce? What would success look like three years after opening, when the novelty has settled? Amazing clients tend to share a few qualities. They're decisive without being rigid. They trust the process while staying genuinely invested in the outcome. And they understand that good design involves a period of not-knowing; of holding the brief lightly while the right solution emerges. The brief isn't a document you hand over at the start. It's a conversation that runs through the whole project. Studios and clients who understand that tend to produce work that holds together in a way that's hard to explain but immediately felt. #OCCA #HospitalityDesign #HotelDesign #InteriorDesign #ClientCollaboration

A client asked us recently whether AI would make hotel designers redundant. Our answer surprised them. Not because we said yes, but because we said that was the wrong question entirely. The question that matters - the one that affects your brand, your asset and your programme - is whether your design team is using AI to make better decisions, or simply to produce more options faster. Those are very different outcomes. We've spent over 30 years delivering hotel projects across 400+ properties globally , working with Marriott, IHG, Hilton, Accor and independent operators at every scale. Early technology adopters, we were building global ecommerce & digital platforms for the interiors industry back in 2010 - long before AI became mainstream. That experience taught us a lot and we saw how quickly tech can shift client expectations and commercial behaviours. However, there’s a risk with today’s tools that the industry isn't naming honestly enough: Polished sameness and algorithmically averaged aesthetics. Competent, attractive, interchangeable hotels schemes built from the visual memory of everything already circulating - and indistinguishable from the property opening three streets away. For owners, developers and brand operators, that's a commercial problem. It shows up in ADRs, guest loyalty and asset value. We've written about what this means in practice - and what to look for in a design partner as this technology matures. Link in the comments below - are your design teams talking about this? #HotelDesign #HospitalityDesign #HotelDevelopment #FFEProcurement #HotelInvestment #AIinDesign #HotelInteriors

It’s official - Planning granted! The next Fairfield by Marriott to be built in the UK has just been given the green light - and what a location. Set on Dover Marina, with the White Cliffs of Dover as its backdrop, this is a hotel with a real sense of place. Huge congratulations to clive lynton and Brandon Riley for their vision, tenacity and belief in both this development, and to the wider Port of Dover regeneration scheme - thanks too to KKA architects for steering their vision through the planning process. This is no ordinary hotel development. The scheme brings together the Marriott International | Fairfield by Marriott hotel, with an new striking independent conference and co-working facility, combined with a destination rooftop bar and events venue complete with external terraces and outstanding views across one of the UK’s most famous coastal landscapes. Team OCCA are delighted to be designing and delivering every aspect and detail of the interiors and guest journey for this landmark project. Iconic location. A special project with real purpose. Watch this space! #FairfieldByMarriott #MarriottInternational #HotelDesign #HospitalityDesign #FFEProcurement #OCCAProjects #UKHotels #Dover #DoverMarina #DesignExcellence

What does sustainable design look like in practice? In our latest feature in Hospitality Interiors Magazine, we explore why sustainable material selection needs to go far beyond surface-level claims and focus instead on durability, maintenance, sourcing and lifecycle value. In hospitality, sustainability is not just about credentials. It is about how materials perform over time, how often they need replacing, what they demand from operations, and the long-term cost attached to those decisions. For owners, operators and investors, better material choices not only reduce environmental impact, they help protect the guest experience, the operating model and the asset itself.

Our March issue has landed 🚀 Click the link to explore discussions on sustainable design from OCCA and Barbara Wiethoff and Sabrina Voecks of JOI-Design Innenarchitekten. Dive into the Art Studio pages with Patrick McCrae and the team from Artiq. Take a breath and then enjoy the stunning projects at Crafted at Powdermills in East Sussex, Tella Thera in Crete and restaurants JW STEAKHOUSE in London and OF THE EARTH Restaurant & Cafe in Dubai. As if that wasn't enough, we also spoil you with a full review of the finalists for the inaugural Sustainability in Design Awards which is only a matter of days away now! Don't miss our Surfaces special featuring commentary from Leaflike Group and HIMACS Europe as well as a thoughtful Last Word from stefano giudici of Atelier Hospitality Enjoy! Vicky, Editor 💗 https://lnkd.in/dz7DjPWm

This week Kate Mooney is featured in The Hotel Magazine, discussing why women in commercial interior design belong at the controls.   The article looks at the role women play in shaping the direction of commercial interiors - from leadership and decision-making to the perspectives that influence how spaces are designed and delivered.   It’s encouraging to see the conversation around representation and leadership in our industry continuing to grow. Read here: https://lnkd.in/ednFvRqC

Thank you HOTELS magazine for opening this conversation, we've already been contacted by many in our industry sharing their thoughts on this terrifying phrase for designers! However, we're not talking about it now because budgets have suddenly got tighter... they've always have been tight or fixed. We're talking about it now because more & more often, VE is becoming a late-stage scramble - which is not what it was designed for. When we bring VE in to the design & procurement process too late, we don't add value - we simply start stripping things out: - Quality is compromised - Originality is weakened - Details disappear - Materials don't have the same impact - Costs are cut in the wrong [seemingly easy] places - The project loses its edge And the “saving” everyone is seeking, often comes back to haunt the asset earlier than anticipated. From our experience of sitting between design and procurement, the issue is rarely that a project is too ambitious or over specified, it’s usually because the right people weren't guiding the process from the start and that the budgets and real commercial thinking wasn't introduced when it should have been... VE shouldn’t be a blunt instrument. It should start at the earliest stages of the process and sharpen a project's design & commercial decisions. If you’re wrestling with it on a live project, it would seem you are not alone!!