[SPONSORED] HIX, the Ever-changing Design Experience that Makes Hotels Incredible

Get your free tickets to attend HIX 2022, scheduled for November 17 – 18 at the Business Design Centre in London.

Taking place on 17 and 18 November at London’s Business Design Centre, Hotel Interiors Experience (HIX) will bring the hotel design community together for a true celebration of everything that makes hotels incredible. Returning bigger and better for 2022, with two days of networking, discussions, parties, installations and a curated exhibition of Europe’s leading brands, the ever-changing design experience is free to attend, and the only place to find the entire hotel supply chain under one roof. 

This year’s expanded edition features new spaces like Collection – a curated edit of 30 brands leading the way in European design including Moooi, Alamuir, Fritz Fryer, Muuto, Mater and Marset. Served by a dedicated pop up ‘mini bar’ and soundtrack, Collection is a boutique introduction to the wider show floor, where brands like Gessi, Northern Lights, Ligne Roset, Parla, Zonca, Chelsom, Hansgrohe and more will highlight the latest collections and interior trends. 

At the centre of the show floor, the Mush Room bar designed by WeWantMore will form the beating heart of the HIX Social strand. Constructed from ultra-sustainable mycelium, the bar will host complementary HIX Drinx sessions across the two-day event, with the show floor also hosting a late close Thursday party with DJ sets, a series of stand parties from Roman, Roca, and Villeroy & Boch, and Friday’s Gen & Tonic midweight mixer – where rising hotel design stars can expand their networks and meet the industry’s leading lights before discovering a series of talks sessions exploring the future of hotel design.

Upstairs, the Kohler-sponsored HIX Talks programme will discuss topics ranging from the power of narrative and the net-zero design movement to metaverse hotels and the rise of members’ clubs. Featuring a keynote from iconic British designer Nigel Coates alongside panel speakers from Accor, Baranowitz + Kronenberg, Conran & Partners, A Studio, Edyn, Roar, The Other House, Wunderman Thompson and more, HIX Talks is a forward-thinking hotel intelligence resource and the place for actionable innovation advice to take into your next project. 

Additional content includes a reception for the Accor Design Competition winners; the launch of the Kindling design collective to support the recovery of Ukrainian hospitality; and a Festival of Hospitality fireside chat with Franklin Till, the sustainable futures agency behind this year’s ground-breaking Barbican exhibition ‘Our Time on Earth’.

Welcoming designers, operators, suppliers, investors developers, specifiers and project managers alike, HIX is Europe’s hotel design event, and it takes place in the heart of London’s design community. 

Register for free today here. 

The theme of HIX 2022 – Great Things Will Grow – is one of optimism. As a reminder of all the turbulence and disruption of the roaring 20s so far, the hotel as both a medium and a market has demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt, evolve and innovate. This year’s program celebrates new possibilities and emerging movements and ideas with the power to define the future of hospitality design. Here, a selection of the HIX Talks speakers share their thoughts on the great things growing in hotel design ahead of deep dive panels in November. Find the full agenda here. 

Absolute Zero: What’s Next for Zero-Waste Hospitality Design?

As the zero-waste and net zero movements enter mainstream consciousness, the hospitality industry is turning to circular concepts and ambitious pledges in a bid to create more sustainable and ethical supply chains. But what’s next in the push for absolute zero? Can design give back more than it takes? And what will this mean for the guest experience? Brendan Mullard, Co-founder and Director of sustainable hospitality design specialists Object Space Place, says:

“We now see this as an essential thread in every single project. Our framework means that from the first site visit we are asking what existing elements we can retain, and how we can reduce the impact of anything new.”

Members Only: Behind the Curtain of Hotel Members Clubs

Creating organic guest communities that extend beyond a hotel’s four walls is a necessity in today’s hospitality market. Look behind the curtain and see how three of the best clubs leverage a subscription model and experiential design to drive loyalty and engagement.

“Members’ clubs create a sense of community that guests can readily engage with; seeking new and varied experiences and feeling a part of the local neighbourhood will be the touch points of the future,” says Naomi Heaton, CEO of The Other House.

Into The Metaverse: Why Hotels are Betting on Cyberspace

Bleeding edge or a glitch in the system? With hotel designers and operators diving into the metaverse, the hotel experience finds itself at the forefront of emergent digital environments and new social experiences. But beyond all the buzzwords, what does it mean for the guest? As Emma Chiu, Global Director, Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, notes:

“Metaverse destinations will not be a digital twin of existing cities, instead they will consist of newly created places; designers will be able to explore the expansiveness of creativity in the digital world and visitors will be able to have out-of-this-world experiences.”

Sens Fiction: Fiction and The Future of Design

Why should today’s designers care about imaginary visions, futuristic tales, and the power of fiction? To understand how guests will use and inhabit the spaces of tomorrow, designer, curator and founder of RF Studio Ramy Fischler looks to fiction as a tool of foresight, exploring the power of books, films, and advertising to reveal the habits, uses and applications of future design. “Being aware of the sometimes invisible connections that unite, in a common trajectory, imaginary visions, industries, economies, uses, and sciences, sharpens our critical eye and helps us, as designers, rise to the challenges of our time,” the curators explain.

Inner City Pressure: Hotels in the New Metropolis

Major shifts in the design and social purpose of urban space are driving inner-city hotels to reassess form and function alike. From digital nomads and mobility concepts to 15-minute cities and hybrid models that combine live, work and play, where does hospitality stand in the new metropolis? “Turbulent times like these do more to reshape human behavior than anything else, especially in cities,” says Eric Jafari, Chief Development Officer and Creative Director of Edyn and Locke. “Increased importance is being placed on the social and environmental agenda, and we see this playing one of the more critical roles in hospitality going forward. Consumers will come to demand more from their hotel stays, and we see hospitality becoming increasingly tribal, with each hospitality experience targeting a tribe instead of function incorporating the elements of F&B, wellness, members and coworking that resonate most.”

Inner City Pressure: Hotels in the New Metropolis

Whilst most major cities have resumed regular programming following the pandemic’s disruption, a cursory look behind the concrete and glass facade reveals that the purpose, composition and core values of the modern metropolis have all changed. The impact may not be as visible as the emptied streets and shuttered shops that characterized the height of lockdowns, but transformative stressors with the scale of COVID rarely deal in immediacies alone. Indeed, nearly three years on, the lingering effects of remote working, dwindling commutes, forced closures and shifts in social preference are continuing to drive change in the global urban fabric.

“Turbulent times like these do more to reshape human behavior than anything else, especially in cities,” says Eric Jafari, CCO of Edyn and Locke, who will speak on this Friday afternoon panel. “Increased importance is being placed on the social and environmental agenda, and we see this playing one of the more critical roles in hospitality going forward. Consumers will come to demand more from their hotel stays, and we see hospitality becoming increasingly tribal, with each hospitality experience targeting a tribe instead of function incorporating the elements of F&B, wellness, members and coworking that resonate most.”