NEWH - Summer 2016 - 8

Conference Roundup

HD Expo
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Hospitality Design Exposition & Conference
(HD Expo), presented by Hospitality Design (HD) magazine was held May 4-6th
at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas and drew more than 10,670
registered attendees, a 4 percent growth over 2015. With 868 exhibitors this year,
the exhibit space also saw an increase totaling more than 260,000 square feet.
The opening session featured a conversation between HD editorial director
Michael Adams and industry icons Michael Bedner, formerly of HBA and now
Apeiron Miami; Adam D. Tihany, Tihany Design; David Beer, BBG-BBGM (now
HOK); and Tony Chi, tonychi. Other highlights included: a keynote session with Niki
Leondakis, CEO of Commune Hotels + Resorts in conversation with HD editor in
chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen; the sold-out HD/ISHP Town Hall: Owners' Roundtable
session, where attendees met face to face with 35 owners, brand executives, and
developers at rotating tables; 30-minute conversations at HD's Social Hub, designed
by Andrew Alford, chief creative officer at AJ Capital Partners and designer behind
the company's Graduate Hotels; and NEWH Green Voice Conversations with the
Experts, hosted at NEWH's booth.
During the show, NEWH awarded three scholarships. Alvin Oei received the
$5,000 NEWH Harvey Nudelman Scholarship sponsored by Fabricut Contract and
FR-One; Rebecca Kirk, a recent graduate from Temple University's school of tourism
and hospitality management, received the $5,000 NEWH Hospitality Management
Scholarship, sponsored by NEWH, Inc., during the NEWH Annual Breakfast: The
Young Entrepreneurs, where some former HD Wave of the Future honorees also
discussed their careers; and September Banks, an interior design major at Virginia
Commonwealth University, received the $4,000 NEWH Product Design Competition
Scholarship sponsored by Symmons, also at
3
the NEWH Annual Breakfast.
The event also featured numerous
parties for attendees to network and mingle,
including the Opening Night Party at Omnia
Nightclub and the annual Party by the Pool
held at Wet Republic at MGM Grand. Save the
date for next year's event on May 3-5th, 2017.

1

2

1. Niki Leondakis, Commune Hotels + Resorts,
sits down with HD's Stacy Shoemaker Rauen
during the keynote session
2. Panelists at the NEWH Annual Expo Breakfast:
Brendan McNamara, Dream Hotel Group;
Kellie Sirna, Studio 11 Design; Josh Held, Josh
Held Design; and Daniel Scovill, Arscine
3. A view of the crowded HD Expo show floor
4. Adam D. Tihany, Tihany Design; Michael
Bedner, formerly of HBA, now Apeiron; David
Beer, BBG-BBGM (now HOK); and Tony Chi,
tonychi, during the opening session with HD's
Michael Adams
5. At the NEWH booth: Julie
Buntrock, NEWH, Inc.; Judy
Regan, Window Covering
Consultant; and Nicole
Crawford, NEWH, Inc.
6. The Hyatt Brand Creation and
Recreation HD Conversation
at the Social Hub: Paul Vega,
VLDG; Gary Dollens, Hyatt
Hotels & Resorts; and Michael
Suomi, Stonehill & Taylor

4

5

8

www.newh.org

6
http://www.newh.org
NEWH - Summer 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - Summer 2016
