We made our annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas to attend HD Expo. This year, thousands of attendees descended on Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino to meet more than 800 hospitality FF&E and OS&E suppliers during three days on and off the show floor. During the event, we met with lots of people to discuss the latest trends in hospitality, and to assess how the design community is feeling about the state of the hotel industry. Here’s what we learned:
We’re too Busy!
One major problems owners are facing is the lack of available design professionals to do their projects. With a massive number of hotels either being renovated or built, designers are over worked, over stressed, and just plain over it. Not that they’d prefer to go back to sad and scary days of 2008 anytime soon. However, this problem is causing owners and operators numerous headaches as they’re forced to pay more for projects, or suffer long delays to completion time, or both.
Steve Wynn is Still the Man
Nearly 30 years after reinventing the Las Vegas casino concept with The Mirage, he’s still searching to create the perfect casino project, which he hopes to achieve with the under construction Wynn Boston Harbor project. During a keynote discussion during HD Expo, Steve Wynn and his design partner of 37 years, Roger Thomas, revealed the secret to consistently creating memorable designs. “We first ask what is the statement we want to make when the visitor is out front, then we design to emotion and not materials. We don’t care if it’s onyx or marble because we do not design to budget. We design to how it feels” said Wynn.
Bio-What?
We learned a new term; Biophilia. It’s not a dirty one, though we think it should be. Biophilia refers to humankind’s innate desire to connect with the natural environment. It’s an understanding changing the way hotels, and other structures, are designed.
“It’s the idea of what happens when we connect people with nature as an economic driver,” said Joshua Radoff, Co-Founder & Principal, LEED AP BD+C, YR&G, a sustainability focused consultancy.
The concept is informing design with new environmental standards, such as the ones adopted by the LEED certification program, as well as through the inclusion of nature first elements such as water features and green walls. These elements lead to higher customer satisfaction and increased profitability.
Sustainability is Always in Style
More and more, we’re seeing hotel companies take a conscientious approach to sustainability. FF&E purchasing pros regularly look at the entire manufacturing process now when determining the viability of a product. And more frequently, they’re eschewing buying new in favor of refinishing or reengineering existing furniture pieces. The move keeps tons of material from taking up valuable room in landfills, while also saving hoteliers up to 80% when compared to buying new. It’s the smart way to save without being stingy on guest experience.
For more information on The Refinishing Touch and how we help designers reimagine spaces by reinventing their furnishings, contact us at: (800) 523-9448 or via email at [email protected].