Market Trends

🏆 The Gold Service Scholarship 2025 semi-finals featured high-caliber candidates from the hospitality industry, including renowned venues like Trinity and Core by Clare Smyth. The quarter finals occurred in October at London's Langham and Hotel Café Royal, where 50 semi-finalists were chosen for the next round on November 29, 2024, at Rosewood London. The final takes place on January 13, 2025, at Corinthia London, with the award ceremony on February 10 at Claridge’s. The scholarship began in 2012.

🍕 In LA's Highland Park, Jared Frank Studio designed "Wildcrust," a single-storey pizza parlour inspired by Milan's modernist design. The studio, while working with Chef Miles Okabayashi, moved away from Northeast US aesthetics, embracing contrasting colors, materials, and lighting fixtures reminiscent of Italian design greats. The space features pistachio green cabinets, claret-coloured leather banquettes, and decorative lighting, including sconces shaped like inverted stepped pyramids. Wildcrust marks Frank's first hospitality project since Tenants of the Trees nightclub.

🏠 Hyatt Hotels Corp. expands in Nepal with a new Hyatt Regency Lumbini, opening by 2028, featuring 175 rooms over 11 acres. Courtyard by Marriott opens a four-story, 127-room hotel near Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, Nevada, with 845 sq ft of event space. KS Hotels and HMD Asia acquire two La Résidence hotels in Cambodia, with La Résidence D’Angkor reopening Q4 2025. Indian Hotels Co. (IHCL) opens La Estoria, Goa-IHCL SeleQtions in Candolim, Goa, adding to its 16 hotels in Goa and totaling 350 hotels globally.

🎨 Lily Ackerman, founder and director of Ackerman Design Studios, discussed the importance of art in hospitality for emotional connections and storytelling. The conversation highlights recent projects, collaborations with iconic and emerging artists, and practical insights on using art to enhance hospitality experiences. Lily's father, with his background in hospitality, influenced her approach, emphasizing the emotional impact of spaces. A pivotal moment in her career was the founding of Ackerman Studios, spurred by her father's illness and passing. Ackerman Studios curates art for hospitality, balancing budget, environment, and artistic integrity, aiming to make art accessible and engaging for guests and staff. Hospitality providers benefit from showcasing both renowned and emerging artists, creating a win-win situation by supporting artists' careers and enriching the guest experience. 🖼️

📌 The hospitality industry sees a trend of traditionally branded hotels converting to soft brands, driven by their ability to enhance bottom-line performance. Ashley Ewing Parrott, principal of AEP Consulting, observes that upscale and luxury independent and soft-branded hotels are outearning conventional brands. This shift offers owners flexibility and an easier transition due to pre-existing elements like social media presence and established branding. Charles Oswald, president/CEO of Aperture Hotels, notes the particular impact on historic properties, with soft brands facilitating inventory expansion for major brands due to less stringent standards.

👨 Gabriel Meyer launched his hospitality consultancy, Golden Olive International, in 2010 at age 49, before his self-imposed deadline of turning 50. With extensive experience, including roles at Hyatt International, Hilton, and other high-end hotel groups, Gabriel's consultancy offers personalized management services, specializing in project management and training. He leverages his industry knowledge, gained from global experience, including hotel openings and a foundational education at Glion in the early 80s. Golden Olive International has a reputation for expertise in the sector and is aimed at mainly independent clients. Gabriel advises aspiring consultants to work hard, be curious, and value human connections.

🍴 Michelin-starred chef Stéphane Décotterd's restaurant at Glion campus retains its star and he releases a 216-page French recipe book "Gastronomie entre lac et montagnes". The book includes a featured recipe using pike from Lake Geneva, notable for its bones but praised for its white flesh. The recipe serves 4, involving a pike mousseline with 160g pike fillet, stuffed pike roast, and pike head jus including 450g pike heads/bones. Cooking at precise temperatures and times (85°C for 10 minutes; 180°C for 15 minutes), it highlights Décotterd’s culinary expertise. The book is available internationally on Amazon and Fnac, with direct sales in Switzerland via Maison Décotterd shop.

🏠 Policronica redesigned the 850-square-metre Hotel Elysée Montmartre in Paris, using eucalyptus wood for nearly all furnishings, sourced locally and crafted in their Lisbon workshop. Architect Julien Labrousse highlights the project's low carbon footprint due to in-house production and lack of repetitive shipping. The 16-room hotel's warm, neutral design features plant fibres, brass, and natural fabrics, aiming to evoke simplicity and functionality with influences from Nordic and Japanese architecture. Hotel Elysée Montmartre is set to open in January 2025, with plans to add ten more rooms within a year, and it is shortlisted for a Dezeen Award 2024.

🔧 Since 1979 with The Adolphus Hotel Dallas renovation, CMCA Design has specialized in hotel renovations while keeping hotels operational, a complex task requiring effective communication with guests. Managing Principal Jill Cole emphasizes early involvement of the design team, owner input on procurement decisions, scheduling time for brand review (typically 10 working days), creating detailed visual representations for stakeholder approval, and holding weekly progress calls. Model rooms, taking at least three months to build, help visualize the end result despite the high cost.