HD Expo 2018 Hosts Record Attendance—Up by 5 Percent from 2017
LAS VEGAS, NV (May 8, 2018)—HD Expo, the leading hospitality design tradeshow and conference, brought industry professionals together for a three-day event, which featured new products, engaging show content and innovative booth exhibitions. With five percent growth in attendees from 2017 and already 80 percent of the show floor sold for 2019, HD Expo continues to be the premier platform for designers and brands serving the hospitality industry.
“With more than 875 exhibitors covering 275,000 square feet of show floor space, HD Expo 2018 has surpassed the expectations of our partners and attendees,” said Liz Sommerville, group show director for HD Expo.
The IIDA/HD Product Design Awards was a show highlight. The Best of Competition winner was KALLISTA for its faucet and cube-shaped handles—a 3D printed fabrication.
New to HD Expo 2018 was the HD/Hilton Box Design Challenge, which carried over from a January event that tasked 12 design firms with dreaming up the next iteration of the luxury guestroom—in collaboration with partnering sponsors—in just 24 hours. After one morning of live presentations, an esteemed panel of judges selected one winning concept from Toronto-based Chapi Chapo Design. This concept made its debut on the show floor, and with an infusion of 1920s glamour, was a nod to Hilton’s 100th anniversary celebration. The judges included Queer Eye star and designer Bobby Berk, hotelier Anthony Melchiorri, Larry Traxler and Leo Eskanazi of Hilton, and Alienor Guilhem from Chapi Chapo Design.
NEWH, the Hospitality Industry Network, programmed “Green Voice Conversations” in the HD Expo Social Hub, designed by Meyer Davis Studio, with discussions concentrated on how hospitality professionals can reduce harmful impact on the environment and can produce award-winning health and wellness programs. Also returning this year was the NEWH Annual Expo Breakfast, which brought together entrepreneurs, past honorees of Hospitality Design magazine’s Wave of the Future Award, making their name in the industry and honored multiple students with scholarships.
The Best Booth Award winners highlighted excellence in booth design and creativity. The booth deemed Best Insta Moment was Kevin Barry Fine Art, and Most Creative Use of a Product in a Booth was Valley Forge Fabrics. Best of Show went to PolArt.
Multiple networking events gave attendees the chance to experience Las Vegas nightlife and make meaningful connections with other exhibitors and attendees. Wednesday night featured the Opening Drive Party at Top Golf MGM Grand and Thursday night was the ever-popular Party by the Pool at Drai’s at the Cromwell.
The more than 30 conference sessions, curated by Hospitality Design magazine, featured more than 100 industry veterans and rising stars talking new brands, trends in dining, and what luxury is today. A highlight was the signature HD/ISHP Owners’ Roundtable featuring more than 35 hoteliers and brand executives.
“The buzz and excitement for this show have been amazing,” said Stacy Shoemaker Rauen, editor in chief of Hospitality Design magazine, and vice president of the Hospitality Design Group. “Attendees are saying this was some of the best content ever presented at HD Expo.”
For other conference highlights and product spotlights, visit hdexpo.com and HD Expo 2018’s digital pressroom. Next year’s program runs May 15–17, 2019.
About HD Expo
HD Expo attracts the world’s most talented and sought-after network of interior designers, architects, hoteliers, owners, operators, developers and purchasers—true leaders, creative risk-takers and innovators who make an impact in the industry. Thousands of show attendees will come face-to-face with the most captivating products and resources to consider for their global hospitality projects; stay on top of industry news and trends through thought-provoking conference programming curated by Hospitality Design magazine; and have access to network—and rub shoulders with—some of the most prominent industry players at a series of networking events.
The Hospitality Design Group produces the industry’s most influential hospitality design event each year, HD Expo, which takes place in May, in Las Vegas. HD Expo is in association with American Society of Interior Designers (ASID); International Interior Design Association (IIDA); International Society of Hospitality Purchasers (ISHP); and NEWH, Inc.—the Hospitality Industry Network.
HD Expo is owned by Emerald Expositions, a leading operator of business-to-business trade shows in the United States. The company currently operates more than 55 trade shows, as well as numerous other face-to-face events. In 2017, Emerald’s events connected over 500,000 global attendees and exhibitors and occupied more than 6.9 million NSF of exhibition space.
For more information, visit www.hdexpo.com.
###
Media Contacts:
Olivia Kimmel
White Good
717.368.4883
Kelly Winkler
White Good
717.690.9768