The art of accommodation: How carefully chosen artwork can transform a guest experience
Ashwin Harrison says art can have an important impact on a guest's first impression of your property, but it is often a final thought.
By Ashvin Harrison
When a guest enters a hotel room, resort suite, holiday apartment or boutique accommodation property, their response to the space is formed remarkably quickly. Before they have considered the bed or explored the amenities, they have already absorbed the atmosphere and decided whether the space feels welcoming, luxurious, distinctive or forgettable.
Artwork plays an important role in creating that response, yet it is still too often treated as one of the final elements of a refurbishment selected after the furniture is installed and someone notices an empty wall above the bed.
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As an Australian contemporary artist whose work is collected in more than 50 countries and displayed across private, luxury and commercial environments, I have become fascinated by the relationship between art and the spaces in which people encounter it.
For accommodation operators, artwork should be considered part of the guest experience rather than simply decoration.
Begin with emotion, rather than decoration
Instead of asking whether a painting matches the cushions, carpet or bedhead, begin by asking how you want a guest to feel.
A bedroom may need to evoke serenity and restoration, while a resort lobby might require something commanding that immediately establishes the property’s personality. A restaurant can accommodate greater visual energy, while a wellness environment may call for restraint.
Once that emotional objective is clear, decisions about colour, composition and style become easier because the artwork is contributing to an experience rather than merely coordinating with furnishings. This can also give an interior greater longevity. Furniture, fabrics and fashionable colour palettes inevitably change, while meaningful artwork can remain relevant through multiple refurbishments.
Give guests a genuine sense of place
Independent accommodation operators have an opportunity to create an experience that genuinely belongs to its location rather than reproducing an interior that could exist anywhere.
Creating a sense of place does not require every coastal property to display paintings of beaches or every regional property to feature predictable landscapes.
Art can communicate place much more subtly through colour, texture, movement, light and atmosphere. A coastal environment might inspire openness and luminosity without depicting the ocean at all, while an urban property may suit stronger contrasts and structural forms.
The objective should be to allow the artwork to converse with the location rather than merely illustrate it.
Local artists can be particularly valuable in achieving this. Their work can create a connection to the destination’s culture, landscape and community that cannot easily be manufactured through generic commercial imagery.
Operators can extend that connection by including information about the artist in a digital guest compendium, commissioning site-specific pieces or even giving guests the opportunity to purchase works they discover during their stay.
Choose art for the property, not the cushions
One of the most limiting approaches is treating artwork as another element within a perfectly coordinated decorating scheme. Great artwork should have enough independence to command attention while still belonging within the broader environment.
Furniture gets replaced, fabrics date and fashionable colours move through cycles. An artwork with genuine visual and emotional integrity can remain relevant for decades.
For accommodation operators, this is also commercially practical. Selecting pieces capable of surviving future refurbishment cycles can reduce the need to replace the art every time the property’s interiors are refreshed.
Rather than asking, Does this match the current room?, consider whether the artwork is strong enough to become part of the property’s enduring visual identity.
Think about the digital guest too
For many guests, their first encounter with a property happens long before arrival. It occurs on a booking platform, website or social media feed. Accommodation has become an intensely visual product, and potential guests may scroll through dozens of properties before deciding which one warrants a closer look.
Artwork can create distinction in those photographs. A substantial piece above a bed, within a living space or at the end of an important sightline can establish a focal point and give an otherwise understated room a recognisable personality.
This does not mean selecting art purely because it photographs well. The work must succeed in the physical environment first. However, operators should recognise that accommodation interiors now exist simultaneously in the physical and digital worlds.
There is also an important practical consideration: copyright.
Owning an original artwork or print does not necessarily mean owning the copyright or unrestricted rights to reproduce the image commercially. If an artwork will feature prominently in professional photography, advertising, booking-platform listings, websites, brochures or social media campaigns, operators should clarify any relevant reproduction and usage rights with the artist, gallery or rights holder.
It is a small conversation to have when acquiring the work and can avoid uncertainty later.
Scale, lighting and practicality matter
Scale is one of the most powerful elements in art and interior composition, yet it is also an area where people can be unnecessarily cautious.
A small artwork floating above a substantial bed or sofa can appear tentative. An appropriately scaled piece can anchor the entire room and create confidence.
As a general guide, artwork associated with a major piece of furniture will often work well when it occupies approximately two-thirds to three-quarters of the relevant width. This is not an absolute rule, ceiling height, architecture, negative space and the artwork itself all matter, but operators should not assume several small pieces will automatically create greater impact than one exceptional work.
Lighting is equally important. Natural light can reveal colour, texture and surface, while considered artificial lighting can transform the way an artwork is experienced at night.
For hospitality environments, however, aesthetics must be balanced with practicality. Consider direct sunlight, humidity, cleaning, durability, security and the possibility of accidental damage.
Sophisticated art selection is not simply about finding something beautiful. It is about understanding where that artwork can successfully live.
Original art doesn’t have to be inaccessible
There is a misconception that original art automatically requires an extraordinary budget.
In reality, operators can choose from original works, emerging artists and limited editions across a broad range of price points.
For properties with numerous rooms, carefully selected limited editions can establish continuity without relying on generic mass-produced imagery. Original works can then be concentrated in high-impact areas such as reception spaces, restaurants, communal areas and premium suites.
Properties with multiple rooms should also consider developing a curatorial philosophy rather than simply repeating identical artwork everywhere.
That philosophy could be based around a palette, artistic movement, medium, group of artists, local landscape or emotional quality. Individual rooms can then contain different pieces while remaining connected to the property’s broader identity. This creates consistency without uniformity and gives returning guests something new to discover.
Art can become part of what a guest remembers
Cleanliness, comfort, functionality and service will always be fundamental to accommodation, but these are increasingly minimum expectations. What makes a property memorable is often more emotional: the atmosphere on arrival, the view from a window, the way afternoon light enters a room or the extraordinary artwork guests notice every time they walk through the lobby.
Art can become part of those memories because, at its best, it creates an emotional response that extends far beyond decoration.
For this reason, I encourage accommodation operators undertaking their next refurbishment not to leave artwork until the end.
Consider it alongside the architecture, furniture, lighting, photography and broader guest experience. Think about how it will look today, how it will photograph online and whether it can continue working when the property is refurbished again in five or ten years.
The most memorable accommodation spaces are rarely successful because everything is expensive or perfectly coordinated. They succeed because each element appears to belong to a larger idea, and guests sense that someone has thought carefully about how the environment should make them feel.
For me, that is where art becomes most powerful.
A truly successful artwork does not simply change the appearance of a wall. It changes our relationship with the space around it.
About Ashvin Harrison
Ashvin Harrison is an internationally recognised Australian contemporary artist based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. He is the creator of the distinctive artistic style known as Motusrealism, combining hyper-realistic charcoal drawing with expressive acrylic and oil painting.
