The 2013 Hospitality Design Exposition & Conference (HD Expo) brought together some 7,000 attendees and more than 265,000 square feet of brilliant displays and booths in Las Vegas last month at the show’s new home at Mandalay Bay.
Says exhibitor Jennifer Lamonte, president of Hunter Douglas Hospitality, “Every year, HD Expo lets us meet leading design professionals from across the U.S. and beyond, and gives our team a chance to personally introduce our unique window covering, drapery, and fabric design options as specifications for their projects.” 

”HD Expo gave Baltus a perfect platform to showcase our new patented Picglaze technology, which is ideal for hospitality and large-scale projects,” adds Marilyn DeLaHoz, US Operations Manager for Baltus Collection.
Highlights of the show’s more than 25 conference sessions included the Radical Innovation in Hospitality Awards-with a grand prize going to the Pop Up Hotel by Eric Tan, Nico Schlapps, Leon Lai, and Fabian Busse. Now in its seventh year, the competition was created and founded by Hospitality Design and the John Hardy Group and was sponsored by Global Allies. A look at the winner and all the finalists will be in an upcoming issue of Hospitality Design (HD) magazine.
Keynoter Trisha Wilson-founder of Wilson Associates-discussed her 40-year career in hospitality with HD‘s editor in chief Michael Adams. Wilson offered up advice and insight into the changing world of hospitality design, development, and philanthropy.
The show’s sold out and signature HD/ISHP Owners’ Roundtable gave attendees a chance to get face time with more than 25 owners, developers, and brand executives- the likes of Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts; Hilton Worldwide; Marriott International; Accor; FelCor-for a free-flowing discussion of industry issues, forecasts, and brand and development updates.
Other show standouts included the new Social Hub-a central meeting place on the show floor-which featured mixologist demonstrations from the Light Group, NEWH’s Green Voice Conversations with the experts, and a special session from Steven Kamali, principal, the Chef Agency. The Innovation Pavilion was once again a space to scope out the latest in progressive talent featuring exhibitors @theOffice, Fresh Juice Global, KOHLER, Martin Pierce, Rocky Martin Hardware, ROHL, Schluter Systems, and SICO America, Inc.
The HD Expo Opening Night Party was a hit, where more than 1,000 people packed the House of Blues. And the Party by the Pool was another hot-ticket event poolside at Caesars Palace.
“This year was a re-birth for us, we were in a new location, had exciting new exhibitors, and implemented a series of new programming options,” says Liz Sommerville, group show director. “We took a risk with these new happenings and it paid off and we couldn’t be more thrilled for the future of our show and our partners.”

