You could toss a Fabergé egg from the new Four Seasons Hotel Moscow to Red Square, that’s how close the property is to the legendary landmark. Starwood Hotels just unveiled W Verbier in Switzerland and will debut W Bogotá and a new St. Regis in Kuala Lumpur in the upcoming year. The ultra-modern Hilton Santa Fe Mexico City opens this month in the financial core of the city. New Langham Place properties will dot the Chinese map, from Guangzhou to Xiamen to Haining. And the late, great actor Marlon Brando’s dream of housing a sustainable property on his private French Polynesian isle of Tetiaroa will finally come to fruition this summer.

With hundreds of hotels making their debuts in 2014, the result of new construction and rebranding, you would think all you need to do is put a sign on the building and turn on the electricity. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. A decision to build a new property is years in the making. Hoping the striking new property balances form and functionality, hotel design is an organic process that continually evolves before, during and after the ribbon cutting.

“The time frame to build a hotel can vary quite a bit depending on the location and where the project is in terms of construction. Typically, I would say that our projects run around four or five years,” says Mike Tiedy, senior vice president, global brand design, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “With conversion, first there is a stripping down of whatever the property was before and then a building back up of our brand. The public space and lobby is probably one of the most visible opportunities.”

Phillipe Zuber, chief operating officer, Emaar Hospitality Group, agrees. “Regardless of whether a hotel is new or reflagged, the lobby must always be designed to be the heart of the hotel. The lobby sets the tone for the overall guest experience, whether it is tone color, décor or ambience. It is the first impression that guests pick up upon entering a property.” Emaar Hospitality Group is the developer of The Address Hotels + Resorts and Vida Hotels and Resorts.

Lobby of Emaar Hospitality Group’s Vida Downtown Dubai © Emaar Hospitality Group

An elaborate entrance is just one of numerous recent trends to shape contemporary hotel design. Once inside that lobby, business travelers yearn for a space where they can have both informal and formal conversations, and easy access to USB outlets to plug in their latest laptops and smartphones. A welcoming bar or restaurant, just off the lobby, might fit the bill.

“We are focused on creating an environment where guests want to spend their time at dynamic bars and restaurants, like The SkyLounge on the 100th floor at Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou, one of the best places to take in views of the city,” says Dana Kalczak, vice president of design, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “Or Nuestro Secreto at Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires, a modern play on the Argentinean asado [an open-fire barbecue], which has quickly become one of the city’s hot spots for locals and visitors alike.”

In recent years, integrating local art and craftsmanship has added an air of authenticity for travelers who want that hotel in Nairobi to look like a hotel in Nairobi. Indigenous art and sculpture can now be found in public spaces, from a major installation in the lobby to photographs hanging on the walls leading to guestrooms. Other properties like the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto go the distance by allowing local artisans to design and create each of the guestrooms.

“We often choose to open new hotels in historic buildings, and that definitely gives the hotel a distinctive sense of place,” says Dr. K.S. Lo, chairman, Langham Hospitality Group. “Most of our hotels also house extensive art collections. Much about this art is relevant to local history, such as the collection of art by Chinese artists at Langham Place Hong Kong. We work with local art curators to create these collections.”

Sustainability is still the buzzword for the new millennium. Green roofs, solar panels, recycled construction materials, dual-flush toilets, recycling bins for guests, heating with bio fuels, preferred hybrid parking, and sheet and towel reuse programs are just a few of the green initiatives that are now commonplace in hotel and room design. Putting aside space for homegrown vegetables and fruits is also increasingly popular. At Turnberry Isle Miami, a Marriott Autograph Collection property, the Chef ’s Garden includes sage, basil, mint, zucchini, eggplant, tomato plants and banana bushes, as well as trees bearing mangoes, kumquats, starfruit, mission figs and guava. The Fairmont Dallas created a rooftop garden in the middle of the city, complete with a greenhouse.

“Living sustainably is a business imperative and a cornerstone of Hilton Worldwide’s Travel with Purpose initiative,” says Larry Traxler, senior vice president, global design, Hilton Worldwide. “For example, Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort is changing its rooftop landscape by adding six wind turbines to the 25-story, all-suite resort located just feet from the Atlantic Ocean.”

More than anything, hotels want to provide comfortable rooms. The challenge is blending an eye-popping design with requisite functionality. The numerous electrical ports are fabulous until you realize there is not enough lighting plugged into those outlets and you’re straining to read that business proposal you need to deliver the next morning.

“The best way to balance design in any hotel is to provide elements that make the guest feel at home,” says Meghann Day, hospitality interior designer, Hirsch Bedner Associates, the firm hired to design the new Hilton Santa Fe in Mexico City. “These elements include providing moveable furniture so that guests can rearrange the room as they would do at home to feel more comfortable.”

“Today’s room design is multifunctional and versatile. One can work from the bed utilizing USB ports at the nightstand, dine at an armchair or sofa thanks to ‘up and over’ tables, even groom by the window with strategically placed mirrors,” adds Four Seasons’ Kalczak.

Advancing technology spurred on most of the changes in room design. Flat-screen televisions resulted in the death of the armoire; the prevalence of laptops and smartphones led to relocation of power outlets above desks and on the night table next to the bed. Latest innovations include digital art on the walls, where guests can change the painting or upload their own personal photos from their database. Guests can open and close shades via a smartphone and, according to Hilton’s Day, drapery is on the way out, replaced with cleaner-looking automatic roller shades. More and more properties are replacing the bathtub with larger showers that incorporate spa-like features such as the rainforest showerhead.

“In our urban business properties, there must be an equal balance between the grooming [bath], work and relaxation zones. This balance might skew toward the grooming and relaxation zones in a resort setting. Lighting is a very important element in both of these room types, with natural lighting being essential to the success of a resort property,” notes Hilton Worldwide’s Traxler.

Providing a comfortable bed is still the core element. Four Seasons now offers guests the choice of a customized bed — a firm, classic or plush mattress. The Westin Heavenly Bed is Starwood’s signature offer.

The St. Regis New York Dior Suite living room © Starwood

Recently, Starwood implemented a name-brand designer’s touch, another popular hotel design trend. The company partnered with Dior, Tiffany and Bentley to create one-of-a-kind custom suites at The St. Regis New York. Armani Hotel Dubai, the first hotel to open under the collaboration between Giorgio Armani and Emaar Hospitality Group, made its debut in 2010. Located in the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, the Armani Hotel Dubai is the first of a series of hotels, resorts and residences designed by Giorgio Armani to be opened around the globe. They join a Palazzo Versace property on the Gold Coast of Australia and Bvlgari resorts in Bali, Milan and London.

The St. Regis New York Tiffany Suite dining room © Starwood

Other hotel chains take their cues from the people they most want to please, their clientele. Crowdsourcing sites like TripAdvisor, where guests can easily review their latest hotel stay, led to more collaboration between hotel interior designers and guests. At Marriott’s new 10,000-square-foot Innovation Lab in Bethesda, Md., hotel owners, employees and guests meet to discuss and try the latest hotel designs. Marriott launched a “Travel Brilliantly” campaign last year, asking for suggestions from the public on design, technology and food. More than 700 people submitted ideas, including a 21-year-old Georgia Institute of Technology student, Anjana Kallarackal, who recommended housing vending machines with healthy options. She was sent to the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square to work with chefs with the hope that her idea will be implemented.

Designers and hotel executives still spend many nights in those hotel rooms before the grand opening. Every piece of furniture is tested and tested again. But don’t be surprised in the near future when they contact you, their loyal customer, to sample the rooms prior to debut. After all, no one knows whether a room is comfortable and relaxing better than the frequent business traveler.