On 8 October in Sydney, renowned hotel owners, operators, designers and suppliers will connect at
Design Inn, the hotel design symposium.
Featuring a host of international design experts and influencers, the symposium offers insight into hotel trends and developments.
It showcases the best hotel developments from around the world and provides a platform for international hoteliers to share their vision and unique aptitude for progressive hotel spaces.
Now in its third year, Design Inn has attracted a high calibre of speakers and delegates to date, including Claus Sendlinger from Design Hotels and the late Alex Calderwood from Ace Hotels.
Design Inn was created by fitout and refurbishment specialist, ISIS Group Australia with support from HM Magazine, in response to noticing a lack of hotel specific design conferences. With extensive experience in the hotel sector, ISIS found a niche in the event space that could support hotel owners and designers to share their successes and ensure Australian hotel design maintains a global standard.
No longer just a place to sleep, hotels have become something much more. A home away from home, a mobile office, a social space or a relaxing retreat: the need is dictated by the guest.
Technological, environmental and social elements in our ever changing society have all impacted hotel design and required adaptation to maintain high occupancy rates.
The changes don’t just affect global hotel chains, but are applicable to all sizes, from the easily recognisable global brands, to the single space boutique hotel. Competition in hotels is increasingly fierce, with the customer making their decision on factors other than just price.
Hotel brand building has become vital in the battle for high occupancy. National and global hotel chains have recognised the need to acutely develop a brand for their properties, with many hotel operators offering a number of sub-brands to suit a broad target market and capitalise on varying guest needs. A well-developed brand provides a potential guest with a measured expectation of a hotel’s standards and services, and can act as a serious differentiator in the quest for low vacancy rates.
Design Inn 2014 delves into a variety of topics pertinent to hotels today. Select Service, Styled Design focuses on the next generation of hotels. It will provide insight into how future hotels will differ in aesthetics and services offered and identify why changes are required.
Meeting Spaces seeks to confirm that an event space in a hotel is more than just a ballroom and will explore global examples of best practice event space design providing high end returns, flexibility and personality within a hotel.
The balance between design guidelines and innovation is considered in Do Brand Standards restrict creative design? A brand needs consistency across its hotel portfolio, but it is important that any brand guidelines do not obstruct imagination and that they allow for constant enhancement and development.
F&B the restaurant brand studies the trend of high end restaurants replacing the traditional buffet. Hotels are no longer providing guests with a mediocre restaurant and room service experience, but instead are incorporating high end restaurants and bars that are often made to look entirely separate to the hotel. This offers a social space to encourage guests to stay at the hotel instead of leaving to dine and drink and attracts non-guests to the hotel to increase profits and brand exposure.
Living Heritage questions whether urban development is being led by hotels and whether creative hotel spaces are impacting the progression of the cities they are located in. An international perspective is also realised through the International Panel, with speakers providing angles from the USA, Japan and New Zealand to give a truly global perspective to the symposium.
And for the first time at Design Inn, a student design competition has been launched, asking students from several Australian universities to develop the hotel room of the future. The competition offers a stage for upcoming hotel designers to showcase their vision for the future and is expected to push the boundaries of today’s hotel offering.
Design Inn is a one day conference that will be held by
ISIS Group Australia on 8 October 2014 at Doltone House in Sydney. For more information on the symposium or to register as a conference delegate, please visit
www.designinnsymposium.com.au or email
This article has been prepared in partnership with ISIS and TheUrbanDeveloper.com team.
