[header]BOUTIQUE DESIGN NEW YORK (BDNY) SHATTERED RECORDS, DAZZLED EYES, EXPANDED KNOWLEDGE BASES AND CONNECTED POWER PLAYERS. HERE ARE SOME OF THE PINCH-ME MOMENTS.[/header]
It sounds arrogant to call BDNY more of a hospitality (af)fair to remember than a trade fair. But for anyone who was at the Javits Center in New York Nov. 11-12, it was clear that there was everyone in sight was buzzing about this New York experience. Whether you were unable to attend or just want to relive the high points, read on for some of the most unforgettable moments from these two days of inspiration, education, connection and, yes, fun.
The “wow” moments started with two sold-out events before the fair even opened: a site tour of the AC Hotel New York Times Square and the Kickoff Party at 583 Park Avenue. At the tour, the owners, operators, designers and suppliers attending came as much for the behind-the-scenes intel being generously dished out by executives from Marriott Intl., OTO Development, Halpern Architects and BHDM Design as for a look at the handsome, architecture-led hotel. The party was a great place for the industry to connect.
At the fair itself, the Instagram moments all over the trade show floor—several thousand posts, actually—were easy to spot, from the eye candy in each booth to the seven Designed Spaces. Those were: AVEC Lounge by Wilson Associates; Melange:Assembled by Studio Partnership; Ouroboros Lounge by BAMO; Reverie by Studio 11 Design; Rooftop Garden Party by Duncan Miller Ullmann (DMU);The Story of Hue by Marriott globaldesignamericas and Taste Travels by Marriott globaldesign.
BDNY’s conference program packed the rooms downstairs with industry insiders eager to learn about topics across the industry, from select service design to audiovisual technology to investment to what’s new for major hotel brands. Among those attendees were executives from companies such as Marriott, Hilton and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), there to support colleagues who were speaking. Venus Williams (yes, THAT Venus Williams) did the same, attending The High-Performance Design: Shaping Up Interiors for Today’s Fitness/Wellness-Conscious Guests discussion on which V Starr Interiors’ vice president Sonya Haffey was speaking along with Adam Glickman, principal, Parallax Hospitality, Kim Matheson, senior vice president, WTS Intl. and Ingo Schweder, founder and chief executive officer, GOCO Hospitality.
Our Boutique Design Power Players: Women Leaders in Hospitality breakfast and panel discussion, moderated by BD’s executive editor Mary Scoviak, was another sold-out event full of no-filter insights from panelists Glyn Aeppel, president and chief executive officer, Glencove Capital; Cindy Andrews, president, Sunbrite Outdoor Furniture; Beth Campbell, chief executive officer, Wilson Associates; Julia Monk, senior principal, director of hospitality design, HOK; Rachel Rangelov, senior vice president of design and construction, Longview Senior Housing Advisors and Teri Urovsky, vice president, design and project management, Marriott Intl. The conversation flowed freely from topics such as tariffs and what it’s like to compete for international projects to new trends in luxury design.
By the time attendees left the show (some of them to attend the Gold Key Awards for Excellence in Hospitality Design gala, if they managed to grab tickets before it sold out), they’d gotten a 360-degree look at the hospitality design world from the perspectives of designers, clients, purchasing companies and suppliers.
NOVEMBER 10-11, 2024
JACOB K. JAVITS CENTER – NYC