Abstract

Cultural sensitivity in hotel design plays an important role in ensuring guest comfort and privacy, particularly in culturally diverse destinations like Lagos State, Nigeria. This study investigates the cultural sensitivity embedded within hotel design and its impact on guest comfort and privacy, focusing on key factors such as architectural aesthetics, spatial configuration, material selection, and smart building systems. Through a mixed-method approach utilizing observation and questionnaires, data were collected from the Oriental Hotel Lagos, and the Relative Importance Index (RII) was employed to assess the significance of identified elements. The findings reveal that architectural aesthetics, including modern elegance and water features, significantly influence comfort and privacy, with RII values of 0.921 and 0.904 respectively. Similarly, spatial configuration factors such as space zoning and multi-functional spaces exhibit high impact, with RII values of 0.945 and 0.931 respectively. Material selection, emphasizing natural and metallic materials, and smart building systems, particularly HVAC control and smart lighting, also demonstrate substantial influence on guest experiences. The study concludes that incorporating culturally sensitive design elements enhances guest satisfaction and recommends further research to explore long-term effects on guest loyalty and hotel performance, thus contributing to sustainable and culturally sensitive hotel development practices in Lagos State and beyond.