Recognition of the values of Iranian architecture affecting the design of commercial hotels from the perspective of foreign tourists

In recent years, there has been a growth in commercial tourism, which requires the provision of environmental infrastructure, especially the development of commercial hotels. However, in the architecture of existing hotels, less attention has been paid to the Iranian identity environment. Meanwhile, traditional Iranian architecture, as one of the most valuable heritage of global culture, has the potential of being considered during the design of hotels. This research was aimed at introducing the physical values of Iranian architecture, in order to identify the commercial hotel environment. The research methodology is quantitative and at first, the identification of the physical values of Iranian architecture was obtained by studying academic researches. In the next step, with the cooperation of 5 experts in the field of Iranian architecture, a 29-component questionnaire with Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.86, in 5 areas (application, urban fabric, color, materials and historical periods) was designed. Because there was no accurate information about the statistical community, the method of determining the sample size of the unknown community was used and 201 questionnaires were distributed among tourists residing in 8 hotels of Tehran and the SPSS software was used for their analysis. Analysis of the research results showed that geometric patterns (in materials and ceiling), sense of place and color have been the values of Iranian architectural identity. Also, tourists are attracted to colorful spaces with geometric patterns and with closeness to the physical features of the historical periods of the Qajar, Safavid and Achaemenid. Therefore, the use of selected physical values can be considered in the design of commercial hotels.