Positive Signs for Hospitality Suppliers
in Latest Domestic Washroom Trends
Research into how people spent their money during the Covid lockdowns, and how they plan to continue spending, is starting to appear. The good news? There are positive signs for designers and professionals dealing with hospitality washrooms in their day to day work.
The big development has been not just a sheer scale of demand for new domestic washrooms but the signs that this will remain a huge trend in the coming months. We’ll take a closer look at the figures below.
While hospitality is, of course, continuing to recover from the Covid-19 crisis and is currently adapting to the short-term staycation market the encouraging news for everyone involved in luxury hotel design and projects is clear thanks to:
• 1, The massive growth of the domestic washroom market increasing awareness of modern washroom design and innovation.
• 2, The inevitably large number of those buying domestic washrooms who have a disability or need to cater for someone with a disability will improve awareness of the latest washroom accessibility fittings and accessories. After all, there are 14.1m disabled people in the UK.
The result? A more design-aware and accessibility-aware general public will become the end-users of hospitality washrooms too as the sector continues to return to some kind of normality.
The Domestic Washroom Boom
One report reveals that renovations at home during the height of the Covid crisis meant online sales of bathroom furniture soared to £2.04bn across ten European counties including the UK.
The online element was, of course, a factor of Covid closures but the report notes that buyers should be ‘inspired’ by their experience of physical retail to help bring more lost custom back to non-online sellers.
And there’s more news of note across a number of recent reports.
• Sales of all products at UK builders’ merchants remained strong in April 2021 following record-breaking results in March.
• Despite a small dip during the half-term holiday season between May and June 2021, earnings for plumbers are in good shape.
• 80% of tradespeople are seeing an earnings rise following the third UK lockdown.
• Perhaps the most head-turning development: half of UK homeowners are planning a full bathroom refurbishment.
By any standards, these are unmissable trends of interest to every aspect of the washroom market.
A Time to Prepare
With the ‘purple pound’ worth £249bn per year to UK businesses, including a large contribution to the hospitality sector, the rise of a washroom design and accessibility conscious population is a challenge we know everyone shaping hospitality will relish.
After all, hospitality has been at the forefront of some of the most pacesetting accessible washroom designs and products for many years.
Nymas Group Managing Director Craig Anderson revealing his hospitality ‘health report’ with some highly encouraging insights: “While hotels – meaning an impact also on those who supply them – have had to deal with some of the hardest restrictions and staffing issues, the change in the domestic washroom market gives a good sign of things to come.
“If anything, we’re seeing a steady flow of extremely interesting hospitality washroom projects worldwide where owners and designers are pushing the limits of quality and aesthetics further than ever in anticipation of a very large, very demanding market starting to arrive in their receptions.”
Our advice?
It’s a good time for every professional to ensure they are using the latest in product design, finish and innovation in their choice of luxury Doc M products.
To find out how Fitzroy of London can help with high-end, design-led accessible washroom products – including customised fittings – simply contact our specialist team.
