With over 4,000 industry professionals and exhibitors in attendance, HD Americas produced a successful first show at the Miami Beach Convention Center, September 24-25.


The event⎯⎯a showcase of innovative new products for the restaurant, hotel, casino, resort, and healthcare sectors⎯⎯was attended by influential trendsetters in the emerging markets of Latin America and the Caribbean. With over 40,000 square feet of displays and booths, exhibitors showcased the best in hospitality design as they joined forces for the show, formerly called HD Boutique. Informative conference sessions on all aspects of the every-changing and always growing hospitality market helped add to a successful show that included networking, site visits, product scouting, and education.
Serving as a platform to educate key buyers and sellers in Latin America and beyond, HD Americas experienced a 50 percent increase in attendees from Central and South America in 2013.
“We thought this year’s show was a tremendous success, especially for our Miami location. The entire HD Americas team did a great job promoting and attracting quality attendees this year,” says Jason Nyuyen, exhibitor and sponsor of the Party at the Palms and director of business development at Modern Line Furniture. “Our booth, participation in the main lobby lounge area, in conjunction with co-sponsoring the Party at the Palms at the W Hotel, helped capture the appropriate audience that our brand had hoped for while simultaneously creating more buzz for our Miami showroom.”
“I think focusing this show on Latin America & the Caribbean is a great idea!” says John Walters, vice president of architecture and construction for Hilton Worldwide. “The various countries with their individual cultures need a show that allows owners, developers, and designers to meet each other and share ideas and wants and needs specific to their corner of the world. This is a great start for that focus and everyone should be very excited about these opportunities.”
Highlights of HD Americas 2013 included Grupo Habita Founders in Conversation with HD‘s Michael Adams, who sat down with two of the four founding members of the group and discussed their process, ability to discover design talent, and their recent expansion to New York and the hostel business. The discussion provided attendees with valuable information along with the chance to later meet the speakers and ask questions.
The hottest ticket at HD Americas was Owners’ Roundtable, an interactive event that brought together owners, developers, brand executives, and decision makers all whom have influenced the growth in the Latin American hospitality movement. Attendees were invited to ask questions and gain insight into the influencer’s respective successes.
Throughout the two day show, attendees were encouraged to vote on exhibitor booths in a variety of categories, ranging from best use of space to best curb appeal. This year’s winners included:
o Best Branding: Sunbrella
o Best Large Booth: Saccaro
o Most Effective Use of Space: Vicalvi Contract
o Best Curb Appeal: POLaRT
o Best Product Display: Global Views
o Best Small Booth (winner 1): FP Flourishes
o Best Small Booth (winner 2): Cerno
While there were a number of great booths at this year’s show, including the above who received awards, additional stand out booths included ProExport – Colombia Government Trade Bureau, Big Ass Fans, Durkan, Simmons Hospitality Bedding, and Global Allies LLC.

”The growth in the Latin America markets is tremendous and we are building and growing in regions that are in need of hotel inventory!” says Amy Hulbert, managing director of design for Best Western International, who brought 23 people from her team to the show. “It’s wonderful to see the teams working on these projects from owners, developers, architects, and designers to brands come together to discuss these opportunities collaboratively.”
HD Americas kicked off with the VIP exclusive event at the National, welcoming top exhibitors and attendees to make great industry connections before the hustle and bustle of the show began. In true fashion, Party by the Palms, sponsored by Modern Line and Senova Seating, took place at the W Hotel’s chic cabana-filled pool space.
“We strategically changed the focus of the show from HD Boutique to HD Americas in order to address the growing need for hospitality furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) in that region,” says Liz Sommerville, show director. “There are currently 115,000 rooms under renovation in South America, not to mention all the new hotels/restaurants etc. that are being built. Our goal is to continue to grow as the leading show for professionals and industry leaders looking to expand their brand in both Latin American and the Caribbean. “
Kellie Sinna, principal of Studio 11 Design, also adds, “I came back totally inspired. I spent a morning with the team reviewing photos from the show and new vendors to look into! What was different about this show for me was how many new people and faces I met on both the manufacturer and design side. The CitySCENE event was a huge favorite and I loved that the show was a manageable size.”
