Walk into a newly designed corporate office today, and you might wonder if you’ve entered a boutique hotel rather than a workplace.

Comfortable lounges. Coffee cafés. Outdoor terraces. Wellness rooms. Concierge-style amenities. Flexible collaboration spaces.

Welcome to one of the fastest-growing trends in workplace design: hospitality-inspired workplaces.

As organizations compete for talent and continue adapting to hybrid work, the office is evolving from a place employees have to be into a destination they want to visit.

Rather than focusing solely on efficiency, today’s workplaces are designed around the employee experience.

Why It Matters

Hospitality-inspired design is helping companies:
✔ Recruit and retain top talent
✔ Encourage collaboration and innovation
✔ Support employee wellness
✔ Reinforce company culture
✔ Create memorable client experiences

For architects, engineers, contractors, and owners, these projects require an entirely new level of collaboration. Technology integration, lighting, acoustics, sustainability, wellness, and flexible planning all play critical roles in delivering successful environments.

A Trend Taking Shape in St. Louis

Many of the firms leading this conversation are right here in our region.

SLC3 member firms Arcturis, Oculus, HOK, LJC, and LNB Studio, along with CannonDesign, continue to help clients reimagine what the workplace can be through thoughtful design that supports collaboration, creativity, and employee well-being.

These projects demonstrate that exceptional workplace design is no longer simply about aesthetics—it has become a strategic investment in people.

Looking Ahead

As employers continue to navigate workforce shortages and changing employee expectations, hospitality-inspired design is expected to remain a defining influence on commercial construction and workplace planning.

We’ll be watching this trend closely and look forward to highlighting local projects and the innovative firms helping shape the next generation of workplaces.

Questions for Our Members

How is your organization responding to changing workplace expectations?

Are clients requesting more hospitality-inspired spaces?

What amenities are becoming standard?

We’d love to hear your perspective and feature more examples from our membership in an upcoming issue.