Design the Experience Before the Building: Alina Hernandez on Experience as Infrastructure

Why this matters

This perspective underscores a subtle but growing shift in hospitality real estate that institutional investors should monitor closely. The emphasis on designing the guest and staff experience before breaking ground signals a move away from traditional asset-centric development toward a more user-centric model. For capital allocators, this approach could recalibrate underwriting assumptions around repositioning risk and value-add potential. By embedding experience design into the earliest phases, operators may reduce costly retrofits and operational disruptions, potentially enhancing asset resilience and income stability. From a capital-markets standpoint, this trend reflects broader pressure on hospitality fundamentals to adapt in a post-pandemic environment where consumer expectations and workforce dynamics have evolved rapidly. Lenders and equity providers may increasingly scrutinize how experience-driven design mitigates obsolescence risk, especially in urban and resort markets where competition for discretionary spending is intense. Moreover, co-creation with end users introduces a new layer of complexity to due diligence, demanding closer alignment between operators, developers, and capital partners. Ultimately, this mindset shift could influence deal structuring and portfolio positioning, privileging assets that integrate experiential infrastructure as a core value driver rather than a retrofit afterthought.

Editorial analysis · AI-assisted

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