HD Expo + Conference 2023 continued Wednesday, May 3rd with an ongoing celebration of the best of hospitality. The day began with the ever-popular HD/ISHP Owners Roundtable, led by Hospitality Design editor in chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen.
Winners of the 26th annual IIDA/HD Expo Product Design Awards were also announced. Judges Patricia Rotondo, Lamar Johnson Collaborative; Matt Thompson, OpenSquare; and Courtney Wilson, Echo Architecture + Interiors selected Durkan’s Mycotopia collection as the Eric Engstrom Best of Competition winner.
Stimulating panels enlivened the show floor as well. Conversations kicked off at the DesignWell Pavilion, where HD senior managing editor Katie Kervin moderated In Search of Unique Ideas | Case Studies and Solutions, which comprised Jordan Bem, moliving; K.J. Hughes, Manifest; Nicolas Simon, Wilcuma; and Lauren Tudor, Rockwell Group. DesignWell also hosted HD Idea Exchange | The Future of Wellness and Artist Collaborations in Immersive Environments, helmed by Snøhetta director Anne-Rachel Schiffmann, and HD Idea Exchange | Technology, the Metaverse, and Beyond, led by John Duffield of Omnicom/TBWA.
Associate editor Kathryn Greene spoke with Bruce Ford of Lodging Econometrics at the Social Hub, which also hosted the Ask the Purchasers | Logistics and Beyond and Guest Experience | Making It Real sessions. HD Park offered the panels Design Optimism | Innovative Strategies on Carbon, Climate, Planet; Business Sense | Investor Outlook on the State of the Industry;Â and Design x Dining | Leaders Weigh In as well.
Read the HD Expo day one recap here.