Hospitality doesn’t lack ambition. What it’s running short on is margin for error. According to ThinkLab’s year-over-year analysis, deecisions feel heavier, timelines tighter, and expectations higher than they did even a year ago. And unlike the other sectors in this series, this conversation didn’t unfold on a stage or in a packed room. Instead, Episode 3 of Season 9 of Design Nerds Anonymous offers something rarer: a candid look behind ThinkLab’s private hospitality research, shaped by brands including Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, and others, and voiced by teams who are clearly feeling the strain.
There’s also important context behind that pressure. According to Interior Design’s Giants of Design data, analyzed by ThinkLab, design work in the healthcare sector surpassed fees earned in hospitality for the first time in 2020 and has remained ahead ever since. Each year, hospitality leaders expect the pendulum to swing back. Each year, they wait for the breakout. That rebound hasn’t fully arrived yet, and the weight of that expectation shows up clearly in how decisions are being made.
If the past two week’s podcast episodes on corporate and healthcare gave you a seat in the room. The hospitality episode hands you the keys. With no stage and no live audience, we invite you to step into the role of participant, not observer. It’s designed to be processed, discussed, and debated with your own team.
Three themes surfaced that helped put words to what hospitality teams are experiencing:
1) Hospitality decision making has shifted from agile to strained.
When ThinkLab asked hospitality leaders how early-stage decision making feels today, the language had changed dramatically. Words like iterative and adaptable gave way to heavy lift, tight, and strained. Data backed it up. Eighty-six percent of end users said their decision-making process has changed significantly in the past three years, and decision-making teams have nearly doubled in size. The friction isn’t showing up at the end of projects. It’s concentrated right at the beginning, where alignment is hardest and stakes already feel high.
2) Burnout isn’t a side effect. It’s shaping the process.
One of the most striking moments in this episode was the emotional weight behind the data. Rising costs ranked highest as a pain point, but burnout came in second. Leaders spoke openly about running at full speed without the time, autonomy, or staffing to fix the process itself. In ThinkLab’s private sessions, that pressure became visceral, with participants admitting they felt relief simply hearing they weren’t alone. This wasn’t just about pace. It was about sustainability, for both people and projects.
3) AI is being explored to help with relief in a tightening process.
In hospitality, AI didn’t show up as hype. It showed up as a pressure valve. Participants were clear they don’t want AI designing hotels, but they do want it handling the busy work that keeps teams from thinking, mentoring, and making better decisions. From meeting notes to learning the business side faster, AI is being tested as a way to give time back to people who desperately need it. In a sector battling burnout, that distinction matters.
Listen to Season 9, Episode 3 to hear how these themes unfold and to earn 0.5 CEU credit by completing the short quiz linked in the podcast show notes.
If this episode put words to something you’ve been feeling, you’re exactly who it was made for. ThinkLab is already curating its 2026 research conversations, and there’s always room for new perspectives at the table. To learn more about our 2026 events (or join us?), feel free to reach out to Amanda Schneider on LinkedIn.
Editor’s Note: Amanda Schneider founded ThinkLab, the only research entity wholly focused on the built environment. She’s a respected thought leader featured in prestigious publications including officeinsight, Forbes, MIT Sloan Management Review, Interior Design Magazine and Metropolis. She’s a sought-after keynote speaker, recently featured on TED.com and the host of the top 1% podcast, Design Nerds Anonymous. Her book titled “Work for What’s Next” will release June 2026.