Hospitality Design - March/April 2017 - 127

hd expo

preview

conference highlights

tales from the top
Insights from key brand leaders kick off the show

When HD Expo heads to Mandalay Bay Las Vegas from May 3rd - 5th,
nearly 11,000 attendees will get a chance to hear from up and comers
and veterans during the 30 conference sessions on and off the show floor.
Highlights include the annual HD/ISHP Owners' Roundtable; discussions
on luxury today, new brands, and technology, and many others; and of

course, the opening session: "CEO Talk: Lessons from the Top," held on
Wednesday, May 3rd at 10:30 a.m. In a candid conversation, the heads
of some of the most innovative lifestyle and luxury brands discuss new
projects, the state of the industry, and what's top of mind. Here, we ask them
each five questions to get the conversation started.

BRAD WILSON

A guestroom sitting area
at the Ace Hotel Chicago,
conceived by Commune

President, Ace Hotel Group

What is your favorite project you're
currently working on?
We're enjoying working on Ace Hotel Chicago.
I grew up in Chicago, and it's been amazing to
watch as the city evolves and reinvents itself,
while never losing its distinct identity. It's been
called the most American city for this reason,
and it is a beautiful thing to witness.
Chicago is a design and architecture mecca.
So many of our heroes-Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe, Bertrand Goldberg, Frank Lloyd Wright,
Walter Netsch, Josef and Anni Albers, and
Buckminster Fuller, as well as the New Bauhaus
school-had a remarkable impact on the city's
architectural and cultural history, and it was a

thrill to channel that spirit in the design ethos of
the project.

How do you choose collaborators?
We're drawn to [partnering] with people and
brands who inspire us and who are doing work
that fills us with curiosity and energy. It's equal
parts gut check, happenstance, and mutual
enthusiasm.

What are guests looking for today?
In this increasingly connected world, guests are
still interested in travel as a means of discovery
and surprise. Of course, people want to feel
cared for and considered as well as comfortable,
but when traveling, often we are given the
opportunity to experiment with different parts
of ourselves-get out of our comfort zones a bit,

spark conversations with strangers, and see the
world with fresh eyes.
For us, the best situation is when you have
that commingling of the traveler beginning to
get a sense of the city and the residents who
are more or less on a permanent voyage of
discovery, even when they're at home. That's
key to an urban hotel-for the space to be a hub
of interaction for guests and locals alike. You can
foster that but you can't force it.

What is your biggest travel pet peeve?
The increasingly diminishing legroom on
airplanes.

What do you like most about your job?
Constantly exploring.

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Hospitality Design - March/April 2017

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