Hi Design EMEA 11

Behind an imposing façade, the finely restored Corinthia Hotel in the heart of Budapest proved a fitting backdrop for the sixth annual HI Design EMEA. Best known for its trademark speed dating-style meetings programme in which suppliers and buyers pre-select those they would like to do business with, HI Design also comprises a supplier showcase and informal evening receptions for the all important networking.

This year saw the largest event to date with a total of 248 delegates coming from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as HI Design’s first delegate from South Africa – Karen Barras, FF&E Procurement specialist at Sun International. Decision makers from hotel groups Hilton, IHG, Rezidor, Mandarin Oriental, and Hyatt were present, as were representatives from Conran & Partners, Hirsch Bedner Associates, Marcel Wanders, Rockwell Group and WATG.

One-to-one meetings between supplier and buyer enabled the likes of Schulte, Dedon, P/Kaufmann, and Bolon to introduce their products to hotel operators, purchasing companies, and interior design firms, and in some cases finalise contracts instantaneously. In addition, a mini exhibition provided the perfect opportunity for suppliers to showcase new collections and demonstrate their products in action: Methven unveiled a new range of Skincare Showers; ABB Busch-Jaeger showcased its electrical solutions; Globe Zero 4 presented its new Penny table designed by Busk + Hertzog; and Trevira illustrated the importance of using flame retardant fabric.

To complement the programme, four educational seminar sessions took place over the two days in the hotel’s magnificent ballroom. Michael Widmann, CEO of PKF Hotelexperts opened with a detailed overview of hotel development in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Widmann’s statistics revealed relatively low chain affiliation throughout the region with almost one million rooms – equating to 85% of the total supply – operating independently.

Accor was ranked as the largest hotel group in the region with 113 hotels/21,923 rooms, and Radisson Blu the largest brand (36 hotels/8,867 rooms).

According to Widmann, HI Design’s host country Hungary has the highest share of chain affiliation with 37% of all rooms being associated with a chain, whilst Kosovo recorded the lowest share (0%).
Of the top ten hotel groups operating in CEE, inter-regional focus was shown to be varied. Starwood and InterContinental for example have limited room numbers in the Black Sea area (Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania) whereas Wyndham holds the majority of its rooms here. Turkey proved to be the leader of the pack – already racking up the most hotels rooms in the region (245,732) – and was dubbed as an “economic powerhouse” in terms of tourism.

In addition to Turkey, Widmann named Russia, Ukraine and Poland as having the biggest potential for development owing to their large populations in comparison to the rest of the region. He also cited the higher number of urban centres as a factor for rollout potential, particularly for budget hotels. Predicting a promising future for budget hotels, Widmann stated: “We will see a lot of development in the two- and three-star sector. Here comes the opportunity if you want to make money.” He was less optimistic about the opposite end of the market: “Moscow and Istanbul are currently the only cities we would recommend building a five-star hotel.”

Despite being hit hard during the recession, Widmann concluded: “Central and Eastern Europe will outperform the west in terms of GDP growth in the next 15-20 years.”

Taking more of a design focus, the afternoon session saw Patricia Urquiola take to the stage in ‘Triple Award-Winning Design for Beginners”, a reference to the trio of accolades she picked up at The European Hotel Design Awards for Mandarin Oriental Barcelona, her first full-scale hotel project. Primarily known as a product designer collaborating with the likes of Hansgrohe, B&B Italia, Foscarini, Molteni, and Moroso, Urquiola made the move into interiors with the transformation of an old bank to a five-star hotel for Mandarin Oriental.

Speaking of her experiences, Urquiola revealed the group wanted “a reinterpretation of oriental” that would fit with the European city. Occasionally slipping back into her native Spanish tongue, Urquiola spoke of her “emotional” approach to design and the belief that luxury is related to quality of materials, rather than aesthetics, a practice that the designer will no doubt carry through to her latest project, Marriott’s Edition hotel in Barcelona with Ian Schrager.

Once again the issue of sustainability was an important addition to the agenda. Professor Michael Braungart, Founder of the Environmental Protection & Encouragement Agency presented ‘Cradle to Cradle’, a framework that moves beyond the traditional goal of reducing the negative impacts of commerce (‘eco-efficiency’), to a new paradigm of increasing its positive impacts (‘eco-effectiveness’). Braungart praised Belgium for supporting the initiative and quoted President Herman Van Rompuy speaking in July 2010: “The Belgian EU Presidency wants to promote the concept of ‘sustainable materials management’ which covers the whole life cycle of products in a so-called ‘cradle to cradle’ approach.” He also commended Desso on its carpet tiles made from pure components that can be disassembled and recycled to create new products. Braungart encouraged suppliers to follow the lead of other Cradle to Cradle clients such as Cosentino, GE Lighting, and Grohe, and positively define what is in their products rather than what isn’t.

The final session of the event saw a panel of experts examine the merits of specifying off the shelf versus designing bespoke. Panellists Marco Piva, Founder and Principal, Studio Marco Piva, Fiona Thompson, Managing Director, Richmond International, and John Small, former Head of Design, Foster + Partners, use a combination of both off the shelf and bespoke products in each of their projects but expressed frustration over the “unrealistic lead times” for bespoke products.

Additional expense was also an issue, however Thompson argued that where larger quantities were required, prices were very competitive. Small and Piva alluded to products they had designed for particular projects that are now in production, whilst Thompson told of her collaboration with manufacturers to develop or modify pieces already in production.

Bridging the gap, the idea of mass customisation where similar variants of the same mass-produced item are available proved significant and was demonstrated by Rezidor’s Senior Vice President of Technical Services Eugene Staal who spoke of the concept for Park Inn in which developers are offered five room styles they can select from and reproduce at a set cost. Staal responded to his critics stating: “There’s still a lot of love and tender care going into off the shelf products.” He justifiably asked delegates: “With all the products on the market do you really need a customised tap?”

WORDS: Catherine Martin    PHOTOGRAPHY: Richard Pereira