Boutique Design - December 2013 - 4

By MARy SCoVIAk, ExECutIVE EDItoR

gO FOr IT
WElCoME to our issue celebrating

the honorees in the 33rd Annual Gold
Key Awards for Excellence in Hospitality Design. Sponsored by Boutique
Design and HOTELS magazines, in
conjunction with the International
Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show,
these awards recognize the year's
best design work in 14 categories.
It's not just about aesthetics. The
work also has to be functional and
reflect a real-world appeal.
Innovation became the theme,
both as filter for the record 261 submissions and for the process itself.
HOTELS' editor Jeff Weinstein and
I wanted this competition to be more
truly international. So we moved
to an online submission format.
We also sought to broaden the
judging panel. Connecting three
continents, 11 judges-all of whom
have played a role in pushing the
design envelope-evaluated an
amazing body of work.
WHAt tHEy lIkED: the newly
introduced category for best eco- or
socially conscious hotel. "It was the
strongest category," says judge Claus
Sendlinger, founder and ceo, Design
Hotels AG. "It's exciting to see how
urban and rural properties meet the
challenge." Judge Ted Jacobs, vice president of global design for Starwood
Hotels & Resorts' W, Le Méridien, St.
Regis and Luxury Collection brands,
agreed. "These hotels proved that a
project can be hospitable, forward
thinking, interesting and luxurious.
They also sent a message that they can
be sensitive to both the local environment and culture and, perhaps, even
help support indigenous peoples."

4

boutiquedesign.com december 2013

WHAt tHEy SEE AS kEy
tREnDS: Projects that surprise the

guest, pique curiosity or even provoke
a little controversy-as long as the
underlying design functions effectively; interiors with some wit; design
work that fuses styles or periods
as well as concepts that play with
contrasting textures and geometric/
organic tension.
WHAt MADE tHEM ClICk
tHRougH: Submissions that didn't

have a story to tell or ones that were
soul-less; hospitality interiors that
had all the earmarks of recession-era
projects in terms of being restrained,
safe and creatively unassuming; and
anything that tried too hard. They
were also very exacting in assessing
luxury work. Spending $10,000 on
crown molding that guests probably
wouldn't even notice earned projects
an immediate "next!"
Starting on page 18, you can see
a gallery of inspiration supplied by
this year's honorees from around the
world. Do you agree with the judges?
Disagree? Let us know. And watch for
the call for entries for the 34th iteration of the Gold Key Awards in the
spring of 2014. Next year, it could be
your firm taking home the gold.

EDITORIAL
Executive Editor
mary Scoviak
mary.scoviak@stmediagroup.com
Editor
matthew Hall
matthew.hall@stmediagroup.com
Interim Art Director
Kelly N. Kofron
kelly.kofron@stmediagroup.com
Assistant Editor
Natalie Knoth
natalie.knoth@stmediagroup.com

SALES
Publisher,
Hospitality Products
michael Schneider
michael.schneider@stmediagroup.com
(513) 263-9379
Business Development Manager,
Southeast
Scott rickles
scott.rickles@stmediagroup.com
(770) 664-4567
Business Development Manager,
Midwest/West
melani beattie
melani.beattie@stmediagroup.com
(312) 218-5691

CORPORATE
President
Tedd Swormstedt
Senior VP Hospitality
michelle Finn
Audience Development Director
christine baloga
Book Division Director
mark Kissling
Production Coordinator
Linda Volz
Reprint Information
(800) 925-1110, ext. 399

SUBSCRIPTION
SERVICES
P.O. box 1060
Skokie, IL 60076
(847) 763-4938
fax: (847) 763-9030
bd@halldata.com

CORPORATE
11262 cornell Park dr.
cincinnati, OH 45242
(513) 421-2050
fax: (513) 421-5144

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Boutique Design - December 2013

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