1. Sleep-centric Service Design
For the majority of people, sleep is a significant source of plea-
sure, relaxation and even experience. Yet, in existing design re-
search, sleep has remained a theoretical blind spot. To redress
this neglect, we are working towards a conceptualisation of
Essi Kuure,
sleep that will enable the hotel and hospitality industry to better
M.A., Service Designer
and Researcher,
develop and manage services based around sleep. This sleep-
University of Lapland
Faculty of Art and Design
centric service design model is based upon the recognition that
sleeping is not only biological, but also a social, cultural, material
and inherently corporeal activity, whose management calls for a
range of specific service design skills.
Fieldwork Interviews were analysed and the results
The empirical fieldwork for this study were visualised in concept ideas that
Satu Miettinen, was conducted among Finnish customers illustrated how future sleeping services in
PhD, Professor of Applied and service providers of luxury hotels and different kind of hotels could be designed
Art and Design
University of Lapland services. The interviews were carried out (Figure 1).
Faculty of Art and Design between April and June of 2009 and were
part of master thesis submitted by Marjo Designing Sleep
Pohjanen and Essi Laakso. In the seven Our study renders visible the journey
qualitative interviews, service concepts of a customer wanting a good night’s
for ‘falling asleep’, ‘being asleep’, and sleep. The journey consists of a pre-sleep
‘waking up’ were used to elicit responses. phase, the actual phase of sleeping and
The selection of the interviewees was a post-sleep phase and is, actually, a
based upon their experience in using journey through different states of being.
luxury hotel and hospitality services, Ideally, the customer starts the journey
Anu Valtonen,
PhD, Professor of Marketing or upon their knowledge of what kind mentally and physically relaxed, then
University of Lapland of holidays luxury-oriented customers turns to a deeper state of sleep, and ends
Faculty of Social Sciences
want and buy. In total, seven people were it by waking up feeling refreshed and re-
interviewed, three women and four men. energised. We highlight six dimensions
36 touchpoint

2. eat, sleep, play
spatial
arrangements
ep
sle
to
ng
goi
material
temporal arrangements
arrangements
p
slee
nga
i
be
embodied
customer
g up
akin
w
sensual
arrangements semiotic
arrangements
Figure 1:
social
arrangements Future sleeping
service concepts
that help understand how a successful present in the same room, as well as the
sleep journey might be facilitated (see customers next door: they affect the
Figure 2). The meanings and importance quality of the whole ‘journey’ of sleep.
of these dimensions may vary in Moreover, the ‘mental bedfellows’, those
accordance with the different phases who are not present, but on the sleeper’s
of sleep, and with individual sleepers. mind – family members, for instance – are
The sleeper not only has his or her own significant, especially at the moment of
sleeping habits and preferences, but also falling asleep and waking up.
a physical body, made of flesh and bone.
Therefore, we situate the sleeping body at Material arrangements, such as the quality
the centre of our model. of the air, the standard of cleanliness and
the quality of the bed and pillows – felt
First, we will enumerate the dimensions through the body – occupy a key role in
of sleep-centric service design: the facilitation of a good night’s sleep.
A massage pillow might help the client
Social arrangements. Sleep is a social put aside daily worries and work-related
activity. It involves the acknowledgment anxieties and to prepare the body for the
of those co-customers who are physically transition to the state of sleep.
touchpoint 37

3. p
slee
nga
p
slee
i
be
spatial
g to arrangements
in
go
spatial
arrangements temporal material
arrangements arrangements
temporal material
arrangements arrangements embodied
customer
embodied
sensual semiotic
customer arrangements arrangements
sensual semiotic
arrangements arrangements social
arrangements
social
arrangements
Sensual arrangements. It is also vital to Temporal arrangements. Sleep is
recognise the role of all the senses in frequently patterned to take place
the facilitation of a good night’s sleep: during the night time, yet individuals
sounds, scents, touch, lighting and vision. have personalised sleep habits, or they
While, for instance, silence and darkness may be forced to adapt their patterns
are frequently associated with an ideal to the requirements of the globalised
sleeping space, they may take many forms. world. Management of jet lag, difficulties
Silence, to illustrate, does not simply refer with getting off to sleep, or fears of
to the absence of sounds, but rather to the oversleeping due to a different sleep
presence of sounds found pleasurable in schedule are daily concerns of many
the context of sleep. The arrangement of contemporary clients. Moreover, the
the lightscape is another example: new opportunity to take naps is nowadays
technology enables the use of windows highly valued.
as alarm clocks, by letting light through
into the room at the waking hour. Or, how Spatial arrangements. The situation of
about waking up to the aroma of coffee? the hotel in relation to its surroundings
(e.g. city centre vs. countryside) shapes
Semiotic arrangements. Sleep carries a rich the sleep experience, but so does the way
set of cultural and personalised meanings. the room is situated in relation to other
Their acknowledgment provides a rich facilities offered, such as bars and gyms.
platform for sleep design. To illustrate this, Perhaps, for instance, ‘badly’ situated
the association of sleep with health opens rooms call for the enhancement of other
up a way to design services that enhance dimensions outlined above, so as to
this association. There is also a range of provide a good sleeping experience.
culturally established and corporeally
perceived effects related to sleep, such as The Benefits of Taking Sleep Seriously
safety and fear, whose management is a Putting the sleeping customer at the
part of a pleasurable sleeping experience centre of attention highlights the
38 touchpoint

4. eat, sleep, play
up
ing
ak
w
spatial
arrangements
temporal material
arrangements arrangements
embodied
customer
sensual semiotic
arrangements arrangements
social Figure 2: Sleep-centric service design
arrangements
specificity of sleep and sleeping, which, References
1
Mauss, M. (1974). Techniques of the body. Economy and
usually, is overshadowed by prevalent
Society, 2(1), 70–85.
thoughts centred on the waking hours. 2
Miettinen, S. & Koivisto, M. (Eds.) (2009). Designing
We have outlined six dimensions that play Services with Innovative Methods. Publication
a role in the facilitation of a good night’s Series, University of Art and Design Helsinki B 93.
Kuopio Academy of Design. Taitemia Publication
sleep. The acknowledgment of these
Series 33. Otava, Keuruu. http://www.ellibs.com/fi/
dimensions and their distinct role during book/9789525018424
the journey of sleep enables the service 3
Miettinen, S. (2007). Designing the Creative Tourism
Experience. A Service Design Process with Namibian
provider to better analyse, blueprint
Crafts People. Publication series, University of Art and
and design sleep services, and to modify Design Helsinki A 81. Doctoral Dissertation. Gummerus
them to meet different expectations and kirjapaino Oy, Jyväskylä.
preferences involved in the different
4
Valtonen, A. & Veijola, S. (2011). Sleep in Tourism.
Annals of Tourism Research, 38 (1), 175-192.
phases of sleep. It thereby offers a service 5
Pohjanen, M. & Laakso, E. (2010). Luxury servicescapes
design platform that goes beyond the in accommodation services of tomorrow. The study
‘sleep menus’ that are currently available and design of high-end services in accommodation
service context. Master’s thesis, University of Lapland,
in many hotels. Our model thus enables
Rovaniemi, Finland.
the hotel and hospitality industry to:
Identity the sleep journey from the
customer’s point of view
develop sleep services for different
phases of sleep
understand the specific needs of the
sleeping customer
touchpoint 39