Leveraging Creative Design in Hospitality

The overarching look, feel and aesthetic of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants can be attributed to one person: Ave Bradley. As the VP of Design, Ave has been described as “the guardian of our interior design” at the boutique hotel chain. With a keen eye for things bold and beautiful, as well as a passion for creating everlasting designs, Ave is more than just an influencer—she’s an innovator. We chatted with Ave to get her take on inspiration and what it takes to be constantly fresh and innovative.

4 Questions with Ave Bradley

1. How do you motivate your teams to come up with good ideas?

I like to give my team a lot of leash, especially in the early phases of design. I really like to ensure our designers understand the important values and philosophy of Kimpton. We like to think of ourselves as light-hearted and having a sense of fun and playfulness. There’s also a certain DNA makeup of our brands, so I like to communicate that to the team, give them room to be creative and then see what they come back with. I evaluate what they bring and see where it is I might be able to push them further. Then we continue to refine, finesse and fine-tune. It’s a very hands-on management style once they get into the detail.

2. How significant are the topics of cool hunting or trend spotting to your business?

I would say awareness is highly important. We try not to be a slave to trends because they come and go; I always try to design something more enduring and everlasting. Then of course there’s an attempt at full integration of whatever is happening or popular in food, beverage, film, music and pop culture.

3. How would you describe innovation at your company?

Innovation…it’s part of the culture. Kimpton was founded on innovation. Whether it was hosting our evening wine hours or our Guppy Love program, it’s part of the culture to be innovative. We’re always pushing to discover the next “first” and we’re always asking questions like what can we do better, what is nobody else doing and what can we do to put a smile on our guests faces?

4. In what ways are you actively investing to enhance innovation?

I came from a retail background, so I love inviting people from outside industries to participate because they bring such fresh perspective. They’re not encumbered by “sacred cows” of the industry. They have the freedom to think wildly. They’re people who are well-rounded and not pigeon-holed in a certain way of thinking. Perspective from other industries is key.