LAS VEGAS, NV — April 23, 2026 — More than 10,000 hospitality design professionals are expected to convene at HD Expo at Mandalay Bay Convention Center on May 5-7, bringing together designers, architects, owners, operators, and manufacturers for three days of product discovery, education, and meaningful industry dialogue.
This year’s program builds on what attendees and exhibitors value most, with enhancements shaped directly by community feedback: industry-guided education, peer-driven learning formats, expanded hosted buyer participation, and easier ways for attendees to navigate the show floor.
Designed Spaces Bring Product to Life
Returning this year, HD Expo’s Designed Spaces are imagined by Gensler and Harken Interiors. The Grand Hotel, by Gensler, is an intimate, bold salon wrapped in velvet and built for conversation. Courtside: A DesignWell Pavilion, by Harken Interiors, is a biophilic oasis that balances activation with calm. Both welcome attendees to sit, mingle, and attend sessions inside.
Within them, materials, furnishings, and layouts come together at scale, offering an immersive way to engage with the products and brands represented throughout the expo hall.
Education Shaped by Industry Leaders
For the first time at HD Expo, education has been developed in collaboration with The Curators, a collective of leaders representing hospitality brands, design firms, ownership groups, procurement teams, and manufacturers.
Programming includes keynote presentations, panels, fireside chats, and the debut of micro-gatherings: intimate, peer-driven discussions that encourage candid conversation around shared challenges and emerging opportunities.
Sessions explore topics such as immersive dining design, capital planning strategies, hospitality environments that support long-term health and wellbeing, and approaches to creating culturally resonant guest experiences.
HD Expo will also host the fourth annual HD University, developed with the International Society of Hospitality Purchasers (ISHP), offering a focused pre-conference program centered on real-world product specification across casegoods, flooring, lighting, fabric, and seating.
Expanded Buyer Participation and New Ways to Connect
HD Expo is doubling its hosted buyer program in 2026, welcoming 200 key decision-makers to Las Vegas for direct conversation with exhibitors.
To foster stronger relationships throughout the show, several new touchpoints have been introduced, including:
- Guided expo hall tours, developed in partnership with Restaurant Development + Design, helping attendees navigate the floor with confidence
- Micro-gatherings built for smaller, candid conversations
- A first-timer meetup to help newcomers quickly find their footing
- The Design in Motion run, offering a guided exploration of Las Vegas architecture and design
Signature events return to the 2026 program, including the HD Awards, HD | NEWH Women in Design Awards Breakfast, Drenched in Design: Party by the Pool, and the HD | ISHP Owners Roundtable.
Together, these new and returning touchpoints make the scale of HD Expo feel more approachable while creating meaningful moments of interaction for the hospitality design community.
Global Participation and Product Discovery
This year’s expo hall will host 550+ exhibitors showcasing furniture, lighting, textiles, surfaces, accessories, and technology, alongside emerging materials and solutions shaping tomorrow’s interiors.
Exhibitors represent 16 countries, with attendees expected from 36, reinforcing HD Expo’s role as a global platform for hospitality design.
Guided by the Community
“Our community is at the heart of what we do, and their experience at HD Expo guides every decision we make,” says Alison Medina, Vice President and Brand Director of Hospitality Design. “We’ve preserved the traditions they love while evolving the show in response to their feedback—creating more opportunities for peer-to-peer connection, varied education formats, and welcoming places to rest, gather, and build relationships. For our exhibitors, that also means more direct engagement with the buyers who move the market.”
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About Hospitality Design and HD Expo
Hospitality Design (HD) is the leading trade publication and digital platform dedicated to the hospitality design industry, connecting designers, architects, owners, operators, and manufacturers shaping the future of hospitality. Produced by HD, HD Expo is the industry’s premier annual event, bringing together thousands of professionals in Las Vegas for product discovery, education, and meaningful connection across the field.
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Katie Genovese, Senior Marketing Director