People. Perspectives. Progress. Here’s what to expect from this year’s theme.
Last year, HIX was all about the hotel’s grand return, and the great things that grew in the wake of immense disruption. Now, with the market back on track and overflowing with innovative ideas, our theme for 2023 – A Room With a Point of View – will explore the new perspectives set to guide the hotel through its next chapter.
Indeed, as operators and design studios alike seek to develop more inclusive and accessible spaces, HIX 2023 will highlight the people, products and projects breaking down barriers and making the hospitality industry a better place for all.
Read on for an early taste of what to expect from this year’s event (16 & 17 November at London’s Business Design Centre) and register for free to stay updated with the latest announcements, opportunities, trends and insights.
Ways of seeing
From an influx of Gen Z guests to the wave of young designers beginning their hospitality design careers, the hotel marketplace has recently welcomed a wide range of new voices. Likewise, a push to amplify previously underrepresented viewpoints and take into account the opinions of those who have historically been disregarded in the industry has kickstarted a vital process of reassessment.
At the heart of this process is a desire to see hotels work for everybody – not just the handful of guests who can afford them, but so too the locals that have welcomed a property to their neighbourhood, the workers who make it tick, and the wider ecosystem of environmental and sustainability concerns that affect each and every one of us.
For an industry that has long operated along strictly defined lines of budget, quality and service, this culture shift is likely to significantly alter the hotel landscape and the manner in which guests engage with projects, as well as the ways they are designed. Indeed, as exclusivity becomes a dirty word, the conventions surrounding what both ‘luxury’ and ‘good design’ entail are once again up for debate.
At HIX 2023, the two-day HIX Talks programme of panels, keynotes and presentations will explore what this might mean for guest, operator, designer and developer alike, shining a light on what to expect from the future of hospitality spaces whilst featuring a cast of voices that truly represents the new hotel interior experience.
Personality points
Where a swathe of studies and reports tell us consumers demand personalised experiences, this actually goes two ways, because there are few things guests hate more than a hotel without personality. Yes, a hotel experience should feel tailored to their tastes and preferences, but this will only resonate if the property boasts a unique character and memorable identity; a design that says something, not simply accommodates.
Service might once have reigned supreme, but in the new hotel landscape guests are seeking out value, and not always in the monetary sense of the word. Younger guests are now more likely to spend their money on products that align with their viewpoints and ethical perspectives, and as they grow into the market the need for hotels to be loud and proud with their own unique voice will only increase.
From grand storytelling narratives and pop-up placemaking gestures to subtle design details that reveal a world of character, the HIX 2023 expo will welcome the latest and greatest interior products to showcase the full range of tools available to hoteliers in their drive to give hotels an identity. From lighting, soft furnishings and and wallcoverings to all-encompassing technology systems, HIX is the only place to discover how interior design can give projects a point of view.
Progressive perspectives
Speaking of technology systems, the recent emergence of AI technology like ChatGPT could prove to be a landmark innovation in the hotel experience. Indeed, a form of hospitality powered by responsive, interactive, and data-rich platforms has the potential to create a guest journey like no other, and those hotels that offer intuitive and and increasingly personalised service will be the properties that generate true loyalty as the system comes learn about the desires and preferences of its guests.
But so too might this present the industry with its next major dilemma. Hotels have always been a human-centred business, but the introduction of artificial intelligence has the power to drastically alter or diminish this presence. In this context, retaining some sense of human service identity and balancing it with the novel convenience of AI elements – including those that deal with everything from anticipated room temperature to fine-tuned food deliveries – will be the next obstacle for operators and designers alike.
This idea will be under the microscope for our leading tech exhibitors, whose products are currently redefining the hotel space and guest experience worldwide. Do you have a hotel tech product with the power to elevate the guest experience? Showcase its potential to over 3,000 visitors from the design, operation, development, and investment sectors at HIX.
Artistic Endeavours
Last year, HIX explored the intersection of art, design and hospitality experience via The Mush Room – a groundbreaking show bar grown entirely from ultra-sustainable Mycelium and created in collaboration with interior and branding specialists WeWantMore, creative studio La Succulente and organic material artist Côme Di Meglio.
As works of art from grand lobby sculptures and light installations to collectable digital assets and micro-commissions become ever-central staples of contemporary hotel design, HIX will once again explore the power of artistic endeavours to generate elements of branding identity as well as resonant consumer journeys.
Indeed, there are few better ways to step into another point of view than a considered programme of art. Stay tuned for more details on the installations we have planned for 2023, and the partners we’re working with. In the meantime, check out how we grew a full bar from scratch and hear from last year’s artistic experts here.
Want more? Discover the hotel points of view that matter and register to attend HIX for free today.
Images from top: Art’otel London Battersea Power Station, Ibis Sao Paulo Paulista, Art’otel London Battersea Power Station, Transformable Hotel Room by OBMI, The Mush Room at HIX 2022.
