Element by Westin seeks to provide travelers with more opportunities for meaningful connections through a new communal living room concept.

With communal living rooms, guests enjoy their own private guestrooms, but share living and cooking space with guests in four other guestrooms. The concept allows travelers to seek solitude when needed, but also gives them the opportunity to connect and socialize as desired, whether they’re traveling with friends, family or colleagues. The concept debuted earlier this year in Scottsdale and Boulder and it rolls out to other properties later next year in Sedona, Sacramento, Ontario and Minneapolis.

To experience the new concept, travelers book a Studio Commons guestroom. Travelers who do so as a group also have the opportunity to volunteer at a local animal shelter during their stay, book an interactive cooking class within their shared kitchen space or take an outdoor adventure tour.

“We all know that humans are inherently wired for connection. As a brand that has always been focused on helping travelers stay in their element while fostering a sense of community, Element Hotels’ new communal room concept enables travelers to come together and celebrate what’s most important to them — the relationships in their lives,” said Toni Stoeckl, global brand leader, Element Hotels. “Whether you’re taking part in a group bike ride or cooking a meal with your group in our fully equipped in-room kitchen, we hope this will give all our guests the chance to slow down, reconnect with the ones who matter and remind themselves about what they value as important.”