The Star Wars hotel is coming soon, Chanel’s winter wonderland pops up in Manhattan, and Airbnb is looking more and more like a hotel company. Here’s our roundup for this week.
Submissions are now open for the 16th annual HD Awards
Shameless plug time. We’re now accepting submissions for our 16th annual project and product awards, including the second annual HD/West Elm Student Design Product Competition. Last year, we had more than 1,000 entries across all categories, celebrating the best in hospitality, from an eye-catching spa in China to the sumptuous Ta-ke restaurant in Hong Kong. This year, we’ve added a few new categories to our project awards, including Hybrid Spaces, Camps + Lodges, and Event Spaces, as a way to respond to the changing industry. The deadline for all submissions is Friday, March 6th, 2020. Find out more by heading to hospitalitydesignawards.com or clicking here.
Galactic Starcruiser Hotel will land on earth soon
In a galaxy far, far away—well, Orlando to be exact—a new Star Wars hotel is set to open, providing a nice respite for Star Wars fans, as well as, we hope, Baby Yoda. Situated within a new 14-acre land in Walt Disney World, the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will land in our galaxy some time in 2021, according to People. The experience-based concept will be the first of its kind with immersive 24/7 Star Wars storytelling, offering custom transport ships that will take fans directly to the park’s Star Wars area dubbed Batuu. Encouraged to create their own intergalactic adventures, guests will will traverse the galaxy aboard the Halcyon, a Starcruiser on which they will east, sleep, and take part in activities like lightsaber training.
Chanel’s pop-up cabin evokes a winter wonderland
The Standard, High Line hosted the launch of a fashionable winter wonderland this week, thanks to a very merry pop-up by Chanel called “In the Snow.” Celebrating the brand’s newest campaign for its iconic perfume Chanel N°5, the stylish cabin concept (on view until December 15th) takes over the hotel’s outdoor space, where guests can take in the ice-skating rink, trees, hot chocolate, and an augmented reality installation that immerses guests into a “very Chanel state of mind,” writes Forbes.
This shit is bananas
During Art Basel in Miami last week, artist Maurizio Cattelan claimed that a a banana duct-taped to the wall can be considered art. Sold three times for $120,000 to $150,000, the controversial piece, however, had an expected demise when New York-based performance artist David Datuna pulled the banana off the wall and ate it. Fear not, art lovers. According to The New York Times, “the three buyers who collectively spent about $390,000 on the taped fruit had bought the concept of the piece, which comes with a certificate of authenticity from the artist, along with installation instructions. It is up to the owners to secure their own materials from hardware and grocery stores, and to replace the banana, if they wish, whenever it rots.”
Airbnb slowly turns into a hotel brand
The homesharing company has been steadily expanding into its very own condo-hotels and branded buildings all over the U.S, suggesting a future beyond its vacation rental foundation. Natiivo in Miami is one of the company’s newest branded towers and will be home to 192 rooms and 412 condos, all available for rent through the company’s website, according to the New York Post. The company also has similar towers in Orlando, Miami, Nashville, and Austin, where another Natiivo condo-hotel will open in fall 2021. Airbnb, which disrupted the hotel industry when it launched, is looking more and more like a hotel company everyday. Further proof? Renting options now include four categories: shared, private room, entire place—and a hotel room.
