You’ve been to the gym for the past three days, reluctantly turned down the slice of ricotta cheesecake after dinner, enrolled for a French class, and already balanced your checkbook. 2013 is indeed in full swing, and along with all those life-altering resolutions we’re rooting for you to uphold all year long, there’s another annual ritual here at Hospitality Design we don’t want you to forget: our awards.

Throughout the past year, there were so many amazing projects—many that filled our pages, some that we oohed and aahed over but regretfully didn’t have room to cover—from palatial hotels to daring restaurants to transcendent spas. Please, submit them, as well as anything brand new you’ve just wrapped up, for consideration.

As project manager for these awards, I personally go through each entry and get them ready for our esteemed panel of judges (who we will be announcing shortly), and the process leaves me astounded by the creative breadth all these distinct projects summon. Continue reading →

Party by the Palms (well, thanks to rain, the ballroom version) has passed yet again, another keynote speaker, this time Alexandra Champalimaud, has given us a newfound sense of inspiration (if you’re a budding designer, don’t even think about going into Champalimaud’s New York offices for an interview unless you also boast a well-rounded foundation in history) and Best of Booth Awards (see below) have been awarded to those that have made the biggest impression on the show floor.

HD Boutique, which as of next September will be transformed into HD Americas, is an annual industry ritual. Like every year, one of the defining events of this gathering of hospitality luminaries was the Wave of the Future presentation (sponsored by D’style and Interior Talent) by the newest crop of honorees who “are young enough to be considered visionary but tested enough to be proven accomplished.”

On Tuesday, Alan Barr of CHADA; Ave Bradley of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants; Andrew Cohen and Jeremy Levitt of Parts and Labor Design; Oliver John Palmer Michell of UXUS; Tim Mutton of Blacksheep; and Foreman Rogers of tvsdesign all discussed their varied, bespoke approaches to design, each conveying different project personalities. Continue reading →

Some 10 years ago, Hospitality Design magazine launched Owners’ Roundtable at Hospitality Design Exposition & Conference (HD Expo), its version of speed dating for designers, architects, manufacturers, purchasers, and brand executives, and today it’s one of the most successful events at the annual show. Now, HD is partnering with NEWH, Inc. to bring this event to the nonprofit’s Regional Tradeshows and Leadership Conference. “It’s a great partnership because it gives NEWH more exposure to the owner and hotel community,” says Shelia Lohmiller, NEWH, Inc.’s executive director. “Attendees get one-on-one time with the owners to discuss what’s going on in the hospitality community today. You get to hear it from the people who run the show.”

The New York chapter held a successful event in June, where 19 executives from some of the top hotel, REIT, investment, and management companies—from Starwood and Kimpton to Northwood Hospitality and Trump—“hosted” tables, rotating every 10 minutes, where they discussed the industry, what they were working on, and fielded questions from the more than 150 attendees. Continue reading →

In case you missed the ad and Michael's editor issue in our August letter, the word is out: HD is going through a redesign. Our first one in nearly a decade. As the ad says, it's HD, yet bolder, fresher. We are excited to unveil the changes in our September issue—and we hope you like it as much as we do! 

Continue reading →