Boutique Design - December 2016 - 4

BY MARY SCOVIAK, EXECUTIVE EDITOR

EDITORIAL
Executive Editor
Mary Scoviak
mary.scoviak@stmediagroup.com

GOLD RUSH
THIS YEAR'S NINE JUDGES for The Gold Key

Awards for Excellence in Hospitality Design
had a daunting brief: Evaluate a record number
of more than 500 submissions from hospitality
designers around the world to determine what
defined best-in-class for this dynamic industry.
Showing off work completed from June 1, 2015
to July 1, 2016, each of those entries included
eight-and usually far more-images, a project
description, a floor plan and a source list.
That's way too much eye candy for one sitting.
So we developed a first-round online review to
give the judging panel an opportunity to create
a short list of projects that would be discussed
during the day-long, in-person judging held Aug.
17 in New York. That "short" list was a lot longer
than we'd anticipated by the time the preliminary
ballots were tabulated. In fact, the raw number
of projects considered real contenders was still
significant enough to generate a healthy debate
that went from day to evening to dinner (sponsored by Neil Locke & Associates, RH Contract
and Valley Forge Fabrics).
The good news from that marathon session
was that there are a lot of design firms doing
good work-really good work. In each of the 21
categories, the judges asked to take a second
look at a submission or put an entry under their
collective microscopes to consider a certain
detail or assess how well the hotel's design
would resonate with its target market.
What they liked: Work that demonstrated
the designer understood how to invest budget,
not spend it; anything that elevated function to
art; "honest" materials; open space plans and
an eye for clever-or strategic-details. What
they loathed: Bad photography (yes, we say this
every year!); failure to do even basic homework
about the client, locale and competitive set; a
disconnect in knowing what's too much-or too
little, and anything fashionista.

4

boutiquedesign.com DECEMBER 2016

Editor
Matthew Hall
matthew.hall@stmediagroup.com

Though the owners and operators who
made up the judging panel-Edwin Hendriksen,
senior vice president development & investments - North America, citizenM hotels; Lori
Horvath, senior vice president, project and
development services, hotels & hospitality, Jones
Lang LaSalle; John McMullen, senior vice president of construction, Highgate Hotels; Michael
Medzigian, chairman and managing partner,
Watermark Capital Partners LLC; Jagruti
Panwala, president/ceo, Wealth Protection
Strategies, Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) secretary 2016-2017, AAHOA
female director at large Eastern Region; Dane
Patunoff, director, development & construction, KHP Capital Partners; Jay Pecotte, senior
director, project development, hotels & casinos -
Americas, Hard Rock Intl.; Thomas Prins,
partner, Benchmark Resorts & Hotels; Larry
Traxler, senior vice president - global design,
Hilton-had differing perspectives (those with
any connection to an entry had to recuse themselves) and diverse personal styles, they worked
to reach a consensus on the winners and finalists. That debate delved deeply into how much
the definition of excellence has shifted from the
"wow" to the what and why of design.
The results of that day-long exploration led
to the announcement of the 2016 Gold Key
winners at a gala at the Waldorf Astoria in New
York, which capped off this year's Boutique
Design New York trade fair and conference.
Turn to page 8 to start getting inspired.

Art Director
Kelly Farrar
kelly.farrar@stmediagroup.com
Associate Editor
Christina Green
christina.green@stmediagroup.com
Contributing Editor
Oriana Lerner
oriana.lerner@stmediagroup.com

SALES
Associate Publisher/
Business Development Manager,
Midwest/West
Melani Beattie
melani.beattie@stmediagroup.com
(312) 218-5691
Business Development Manager,
Northeast
Michael Schneider
michael.schneider@stmediagroup.com
(212) 404-6936
Business Development Manager,
Southeast
Scott Rickles
scott.rickles@stmediagroup.com
(770) 664-4567

CORPORATE
President
Tedd Swormstedt
Senior VP, Boutique Design Group,
ST Media Group
President, Hospitality Media Group
Michelle Finn
michelle.finn@stmediagroup
(312) 961-2772
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Mark Kissling
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Boutique Design - December 2016

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