Sleep & Eat reveals guestroom set designers for 2020

Sleep & Eat, which will take place in a virtual format from 17-19 November, has announced the hotel brand partners who will be working with architecture and design firms to create this year’s guestroom sets.

Accor is set to partner with Perkins and Will; IHG will work with AD Associates; and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will collaborate with Chalk Architecture, Hotel Hussy and students from University of West London. In addition, ReardonSmith Architects is creating a guestroom for a hotel group yet to be launched in collaboration with students from Glion Institute of Higher Education and Hotelschool The Hague, led by the directors of hotel creative consultancy, HoCoSo, and branded by Delight Lifestyle Brand Agency.

To celebrate the 15th anniversary year of Sleep & Eat, the designers and hotel groups have been tasked with giving attendees a glimpse into what to expect from hotel guestrooms over the next 15 years. Each hotel brand partner has selected one of its brands for the forward-looking programme into design innovation: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts – Wyndham; IHG – Voco; and Accor – Mővenpick Hotels & Resorts.

Since the event is virtual, the concepts will take the form of simulated digital walk-throughs, allowing visitors to explore the projects in detail, navigate around them and enjoy an interactive three-dimensional experience. For the hotel groups, it’s also an opportunity to imagine the future for their brands.

“This year’s theme captured our imagination and enticed us to participate in Sleep & Eat 2020. We have been given the opportunity to approach guestroom design with a truly open mind and to bring our vision to life,” says Chris Lee, Director of Architecture, Design & Construction for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

“It’s also a wonderful opportunity to work with our extended team including the inspiring designer Paul Nicholson at Chalk Architecture; Katie Brinsmead-Stockham for Hotel Hussy; and Professor Layton Reid and his students at the University of West London.”

Emma King, Head of Design at IHG, seconds this: “We have built many concept rooms in the past but this is different – the opportunity to conceptualise a room so far into the future. Sleep & Eat is a great chance to showcase new design and we’re really pleased to be working with AD Associates on this.”

The Sleep & Eat sets have proved a perennial favourite among visitors over the years, acting as a thought-provoking take on the hotel experience, cultural values and human desires. They have also been a rare opportunity for architects and designers to explore conceptual thought and interrogate societal issues.

Neil Andrew, Head of Hospitality at Perkins and Will, says: “For us, innovative sustainable design is pivotal to our industry, now more than ever, so our set will be exploring the role the sector can play in meeting the environmental targets we so urgently need to reach.”

Jonny Sin, Director of ReardonSmith Architects, echoes this sentiment: “We are living through a time of re-calibration when some existing trends will accelerate and others will be re-thought. This makes it particularly meaningful to be working with students who will be the managers and owners, as well as influential guests, of hotels in 15 years’ time.”

The four guestroom sets will be joined by dining experiences, a virtual lounge bar and hotel lobby, while a new online platform will enable event participants and registered attendees to pre-arrange meetings.