Reclaiming the Heart of Hospitality: RoseBernard Studio on Why the Industry Must Put People First
The hospitality industry, at its best, has always been about people. Yet today, many hotels and venues seem to have lost sight of this fundamental truth, a belief that deeply resonates with Robert Polacek, co-founder and Creative Director of RoseBernard Studio. In his view, the industry has strayed from its original purpose, prioritizing spreadsheets, brand standards, and short-term yield over genuine care.
“What’s largely forgotten today is that hospitality is a human act before it is a real estate one,” Polacek says. “Hotels now are being designed to trade, not to care. But at its core, emotional intelligence truly is what makes people return to them.”
Polacek argues that this shift has diluted the soul of hospitality. “With an abundance of venues, I believe the result is a proliferation of spaces that feel devoid of connection, and lacking the kind of impact that makes guests want to return,” he explains.
He highlights how loyalty is frequently measured in points programs rather than in meaningful experiences. “It’s so loose that we now create loyalty through points programs, rather than making an experience that people want to come back to,” Polacek explains. “That is the opposite of what the hospitality industry is supposed to be.”
RoseBernard Studio, led by Polacek and his partner and Design Director Justin Colombik, approaches this challenge differently. Through their philosophy, the Innkeeper Project, the firm emphasizes design that integrates business strategy and human behavior, not just aesthetics.
“Sincere care is not the opposite of profitability,” Polacek says. “It’s the reason for it. When you design with intention and dignity, assets perform better over time because they start to mean something to people.” This framework is intended to transform hospitality into a leadership model where empathy and operational insight can merge, creating spaces that are both financially sustainable and emotionally resonant.
To shift the industry toward this vision, Polacek emphasizes the need for honest assessment. Leaders, he notes, must acknowledge when their focus has strayed from guest experience. “You shouldn’t be having to fish for a guest to stay at your hotel. They should be coming because they want to stay there,” he says. From his perspective, a renewed focus on people, rather than points systems or formulaic branding, creates the kind of loyalty that cannot be bought.
Achieving this, in his view, requires collaboration across disciplines, designers, operators, and ownership alike. RoseBernard leverages its expertise in architecture, art history, and operational strategy to guide clients toward practical, impactful solutions. Polacek emphasizes how, using AI-generated renderings and ROI analysis, the studio can demonstrate how an enhancement could generate boosted revenue in its first year, turning creative vision into tangible results.
“We’re not going to build some spectacle just because we want to,” he explains. “We design with the guest in mind, while striving to ensure it works for the business.”
Polacek is forthcoming about his opinion of the industry becoming siloed and repetitive. According to him, as hospitality grew, leadership roles often shifted away from hands-on design, which may have resulted in watered-down standards and a proliferation of brands with little differentiation. “The only true thing that still stands alone is your heart,” he says. “Hospitality begins and ends with that care. When design, operations, and business strategy align around human-centered principles, the industry might just reclaim its essence.”
As per Polacek, his message lies in the power of taking a moment to reflect before inevitably choosing to act. He urges the integration of care within design and operational collaboration in order to create hotel spaces that are profitable and, more importantly, meaningful. As Polacek puts it, “When you break bread together with people, strangers or friends, someone is putting love into it. That’s caring for someone else’s well-being, and that’s what hospitality should always be.”
