Hospitality Design: What I've Learned

Childhood friends Asher Warr and Robin Faulkner, cofounders of Amarla Hotels, launched their first property in Cartagena in 2018. The 17th-century mansion, a former tobacco factory, celebrates the community via authentic experiences—a pillar of the newly founded brand. Next came Amarla Casco Viejo, the eight-room boutique that is reimagining Panama’s hospitality scene. The British entrepreneurs are rethinking hospitality by creating hotels centered around what they call a heartfelt hospitality approach—one that transcends the property and immerses visitors into the location.

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From an early age, the Melbourne-bred, New York-based Ross Mollison had a love for music and live entertainment. This nascent passion led him to launch Spiegelworld in 2005, known for its groundbreaking shows that blend cabaret, the circus, and variety performances.

Under Mollison's leadership, Spiegelworld has become synonymous with cutting-edge, adult-oriented entertainment that pushes the boundaries of traditional theatrical experiences. Indeed, his creativity and vision have played a key role in shaping Spiegelworld's reputation as a trailblazer in the world of live entertainment, spotlighted in the forthcoming DiscoShow and the development of a circus town in Nipton, California, where Mollison and his team dream up their creative, otherworldly endeavors.

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Carlos Martínez Flórez, who left Cuba when he was 3 years old, spent his early years in Puerto Rico, where he developed a passion for reading and storytelling. He struggled in school but was always interested in architecture, which he pursued at the Ohio State University. He cut his teeth with Holabird & Root, the Doblin Group, and Perkins&Will before landing at Gensler in 2001. With more than four decades of industry experience, Martínez Flórez now serves as the co-managing director and design principal at the firm's New York office, where he has become integral in fostering the next generation of design professionals.

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Louis Thompson began his hospitality career working with Six Senses. While there, he learned about the importance of sustainability, innovation, and regeneration. In 2011, after 10 years with the wellness-focused brand, Thompson founded Nomadic Resorts. It was a natural next step for the entrepreneur, who was experimenting with crafting eco-friendly resorts in remote locales. Take the Wild Coast Tented Lodge near the Yala National Park in Sri Lanka. Thompson, who designed the building to blend into its natural surroundings, also trained 80 people from a neighboring fishermen's village to help with the construction. Today, Thompson is again pushing the envelope as he introduces salutogenic architecture to a new audience, where he hopes to influence mental wellbeing through design. Here, he shares his vision for the future of hospitality, including the development of niche experiences that cultivate community.

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Growing up in Scotland, surrounded by Glasgow's vibrant culture and architecture, Iain Watson, CEO of David Collins Studio, found his passion early on. A chance meeting with David Collins changed his life forever. He started working alongside the designer over the summer. Since that pivotal moment, spanning more than three decades, Watson has remained an integral part of the studio's evolution. Together, they carved a niche in the hospitality industry, crafting iconic spaces, including chef Pierre Koffmann's La Tante Claire in Chelsea, Claridge's Bar at the Claridge's Hotel in London, and the Blue Bar in London's Berkeley Hotel. The firm is also one of a handful of designers behind the highly anticipated Fontainebleau Las Vegas, opening this month. After Collins’ death in 2013, Watson took the reins of the company, where he has ushered the studio into a new era while still honoring Collins’ legacy.

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Born in Laguna Beach, California, Maryellis Bunn, founder of the Museum of Ice Cream, was influenced by her artist mother, who shaped her creative mindset. Dubbed the Millennial Walt Disney, Bunn launched the original concept for the Museum of Ice Cream as a pop-up in New York in 2016, and has since transformed it into brick-and-mortar experiential spaces that invite people to slide into a pool made of biodegradable sprinkles or enjoy a cocktail at the pretty-in-pink bar. With standalone museums in New York, Chicago, Austin, and Singapore, Bunn continues to evolve the brand’s mission to create spaces that inspire imagination and unite people around something “as simple and beautiful as ice cream,” she says,

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Designer Ken Fulk is a renaissance man, avid traveler, and a design dreamer. He’s known for his artistry and creativity, conjuring cinematic experiences that defy expectations. Take his longtime partnership with nightlife empresario David Grutman. Together, they have created the whimsical Goodtime Hotel and the recently opened, equally eclectic and singular, Casadonna, both in Miami. Fulk is also evolving his office, owning and operating some of the restaurants he designs. “There’s no exit strategy here,” he says. “People ask if I’ll ever slow down, and I hope not. We will continue to evolve, grow, and stay curious.”

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Tom Parker and Andy Goodwin founded the London- and Los Angeles-based Fettle in 2013 after a decade of working with some of London’s most notable design firms including United Designers and Martin Brudnizki Design Studio. Launching their own firm was the natural next step for the friends-turned-business partners. “At the time, it was very exciting and it felt like we were on the precipice of something great,” says Parker. Today, their portfolio includes the Hoxton, Portland in Oregon, the Draycott in LA, and the just-opened Georgian, their meticulous revitalization of a grande dame in Santa Monica, California.

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British-Nigerian designer Tolù Adẹ̀kọ́, who founded his London-based Adẹ̀kọ́ & Co in 2014, is known for his compelling design narratives that nod to his childhood in Lagos, Nigeria. He moved to London at the age of 6, and it wasn’t long before Adẹ̀kọ́ started sketching furniture and clothing that caught the eye of his teachers and landed him a slot in a summer product design program led by Terence Conran. His resumé includes stints with United Design Partnership and David Collins Studio, where he helped design Waldorf Astoria Lusail, Doha’s outpost of Italian restaurant Scarpetta. Today, along with his eight-person team, he is crafting luxe interiors for a forthcoming fleet of cruise ships and designing a scullery inside a London men’s hostel where residents find community in cooking and eating together.

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When COVID hit, Lola Taverna in New York’s SoHo neighborhood had only been open for a few months. The world had stopped, and Cobi Levy and Will Makris, the duo behind Prince Street Hospitality, had to pivot. They turned Lola Taverna into a communal gathering spot, offering takeout food with chairs to rent (the money went to first responders). Utilizing the park next door, they served up to 250 people a day. It helped them survive those uncertain pandemic days, and when restaurants were finally able to reopen, Lola Taverna was on everyone’s mind, with a waitlist on the weekends that numbered up to 4,000. Today, their portfolio includes seven restaurants in New York and Miami, with Alba on the boards in Los Angeles, the pair’s first foray to the West Coast.

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As president of luxury at Marriott International, Tina Edmundson oversees all aspects of Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, BVLGARI Hotels & Resorts, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, EDITION, Luxury Collection, JW Marriott, and W Hotels Worldwide brands. But Edmundson, an industry veteran, first made a significant mark on the company as global brand and marketing officer, leading a portfolio of 30 distinct hotel brands upon the massive merger of Marriott and Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Raised in Mumbai, India, where Edmundson’s parents worked for an airline before her entrepreneurial mother opened a string of beauty salons, Edmundson graduated with a finance degree from the University of Bombay, and then ventured to the U.S. to pursue her MBA in hotel and restaurant administration at the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton college.

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With a roster of venues including New York hotspots Ray’s, Jac’s on Bond, and Georgia Room, the trio behind Authentic Hospitality—Matt Kliegman, Matthew Charles, and Carlos Quirarte—have been reshaping New York’s F&B scene since they opened the Smile In 2009. One of those partners, Kliegman, started his party-planning career back at New York University (NYU) and his résumé speaks for itself. Whether working with Ian Schrager at the Public Hotel or bringing an Old School sophistication to Rock Center with the Pebble Bar, Kliegman says the secret to his success is his team. “Partnerships are like marriages,” he points out, “and it’s important to take the time to pick the right partners.”

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With a father in the military, the Paris-based Emlyn Brown attended 13 schools over 18 years. During high school in Munich, he traveled constantly with his family, from Italy to Cyprus and Hong Kong. He graduated from the University of Manchester in the UK with a degree in leisure and sport, and furthered his education in the field by studying sport science and psychology. That led him to his first job with Holmes Place, a health, fitness, and wellness concept, which Brown describes as the Equinox of the '90s. His seven-year journey there took him from the sales floor to eventually becoming the area director for Europe. Today, his résumé is a who’s who of gamechanging wellness brands, including Six Senses, GOCO Hospitality, Resense Spa, and currently Accor, where he serves as the global senior vice president of wellbeing. Here, Brown explains how if wellbeing is done right, it can create a sense of community.

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Born in Budapest, the London-based Linda Boronkay was inspired by her architect father and her journalist mother. Indeed, her interest in design was piqued from an early age with the former model winning Britain’s Best Emerging Interior Designer award during her second year of college. That led to jobs with Martin Brudnizki, Tara Bernerd, and Woods Bagot. From there, she landed at Soho House, where she spent four years as the company’s director of design. In September 2020, at the height of the pandemic, she launched her own eponymous firm. With a team of 12, her studio has been enlisted to design the Thompson Rome and Sir Prague, adding to her growing portfolio. “I’m in love with the notion of ... giving people an unforgettable experience,” she says. “ I want to give [people] that sense of excitement and fantasy—that primal, intuitive, and visceral feeling that you're about to experience something special. I'm in love with that feeling.”

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In November 2023, Libby Sims Patrick will be inducted into Hospitality Design's Platinum Circle, an honor bestowed on those who have made significant impact and contributions to the hospitality industry. In February of 2022, Sims Patrick joined editor in chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen for a wide-ranging conversation, where she reflected on her southern upbringing, launching her Atlanta-based firm, and her role as an owner-developer of the River Runner Hotel, slated to open in 2024.

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Andrew Fay and Roger Hill met at Cornell University and became fast friends bonding over their shared passion for hospitality. In 1988, they took a leap of faith and founded the Gettys Group. It was a big risk at the time, but one that has paid off in the three-plus decades they’ve run the Chicago-based company as COO and CEO, respectively. Their work speaks for itself. Consider the Farnam Hotel’s vibrant interiors, which have reinvigorated Omaha, Nebraska, or the Grand Bohemian Orlando’s lush designs. Today, the 70-person firm is made up of experts in everything from interiors and development to branding and procurement. This collaborative spirit has allowed the Gettys Group to offer a truly holistic approach to design, ensuring that each project is as unique and memorable as the next.

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For Malene Djenaba Barnett, the common thread of her life's work is her ancestors, whom she pays homage to through her multidisciplinary pursuits. There's Barnett's textiles and ceramics work tied to the Black diaspora, her 2018 founding of the Black Artists + Designers Guild (BADG) to celebrate and support Black creatives, and her current studies as a Fulbright scholar where she is the visiting artist at Edna Manley College in Kingston, Jamaica.

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The Co-CEOS of Tao Group Hospitality share the unique distinction of being business partners and best friends. After meeting in high school, Tepperberg and Strauss started throwing parties which quickly evolved into larger events and an exclusive list of clientele. After graduating from college, they founded Strategic Group, opened gamechanging Manhattan nightclub Marquee, and eventually, met Marc Packer and Rich Wolf, founders of Tao restaurant. Soon after, the foursome launched Tao Group Hospitality—and the rest is history.

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After 17 years ascending the ranks of Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA), starting out as a designer before eventually becoming a partner, Meghann Day was recently promoted to President of the Americas. Although Day’s career has taken her all over the world and through different roles from designer to principal interior designer to her newly created position, one thing hasn’t changed—her love of hospitality.

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Clint Nagata founded BLINK Design Group with the goal to create a firm that would outlast him by placing the emphasis on the brand as a whole—and its work—rather than any one individual. Since 2006, Nagata and his team at BLINK Design Group have been reshaping the modern hospitality landscape together, crafting luxurious oases including Vietnam’s Regent Phu Quoc, Raffles Maldives Meradhoo Resort, and Six Senses Uluwatu.

This episode is brought to you by American Leather. To learn more, visit www.americanleather.com

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Partners in love and in life, Kevin O'Shea and David Bowd are the minds behind Salt Hotels. After walking their own paths in hospitality, with O'Shea cutting his teeth at Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Bowd working for hospitality heavyweights Andre Balazs and Ian Schrager, they set out on their own. What started as a small boutique hotel, Salt House Inn in Provincetown, Massachusetts has since grown, with the founders bringing their own brand of hospitality to Miami, New York, L.A., and soon--beyond. This episode is brought to you by American Leather.

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Barbara Parker and Miriam Torres made their way into design independently but it wasn't long before they decided to go into business together, after a mutual colleague pointed out their complementary talents. In 2004, they founded their Boston-based firm Parker-Torres Design. Over the past 19 years, Parker and Torres have brought their visionary touches to a slate of renowned properties, including the Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Rey and InterContinental Washington, DC - the Wharf, leading to their induction into Hospitality Design's Platinum Circle hall of fame in 2022. As for what makes their partnership such a success, they credit the passion and dedication they pour into every project. "We're fortunate that we just happen to do what we love to do," Torres says.

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"You [have] to embrace change. Don't doubt it," says Helen Jorgensen, who would certainly know. Her nontraditional journey into the hospitality industry began with stints in government at the IRS and the NSA before she pivoted to roles at Marriott and Disney. Now, as the vice president of design and procurement at Host Hotels & Resorts, she helps instill a strong sense of place in each property through design while keeping LEED and ESG commitments top of mind.

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Designer Mark Zeff's life changed in 1982 after boarding a flight bound for New York City from Australia. What was intended as a short trip soon stretched to three weeks, and before he knew it, New York was home. Spending glamorous nights at Studio 1954 and mingling with iconic creatives Andy Warhol and Anna Wintour, it wasn't long until he founded his namesake interior design and architecture firm MARKZEFF, the force behind Magnolia Bakery, Virgin Nashville, and New Orleans' Kimpton Hotel Fontenot. As Zeff says, "Patience always prevails."

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Wanting to combat burnout after stints at several high-profile firms, Barbados-born, Toronto-raised Ian Rolston set out on his own to found Decanthropy. Rather than bringing just another design studio to market, Rolston was fueled by his desire to remake design for the better. The "innovation studio", as he calls it embeds equity and inclusivity at every layer from people to processes to projects. As Rolston says, "We have to understand how other people see the world and through their lenses. And we can only do that be collaborating with people that are different and have different experiences. It's okay as a designer to not have all the answers."

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Entrepreneur K.J. Hughes has proven himself time and again, first cutting his teeth as a nightlife promoter before founding a sports and entertainment agency. His latest venture? Manifest, the Snarkitecture-designed, Washington, D.C.-based hybrid concept that spans a barbershop, speakeasy, coffee bar, and retail shop. No matter Hughes' pursuits, there's one constant—his persistence to bringing his dreams to life, despite any challenges that arise.

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In this 100th episode clip show of Hospitality Design's What I've Learned podcast, editor in chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen reflects on 100 fascinating guests, incredible stories, and thought-provoking lessons learned with past guests including Raul Leal, SH Hotels & Resorts; Brad Wilson, Ace Hotel Group; Venus Williams, V Starr; Ian Schrager, ISC; chef Daniel Boulud, Kia Weatherspoon, Determined by Design, Paula Scher, Pentagram, and more.

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In November, Marcus Samuelsson became the first chef to guest edit Hospitality Design magazine, and to celebrate, we're re-releasing his episode from August 2020. During the conversation, the prolific chef, restaurateur, and author discussed his career as well as the subject on everyone’s minds at the time—COVID and its impact on the industry. Since then, Samuelsson has opened Hav and Mar, a fusion of his Ethiopian and Scandinavian roots. The barrier-breaking restaurant is featured in the issue, along with conversations with artists Derrick Adams and Shantell Martin, fashion plates Dapper Dan and Lana Turner, and champions of Black food, Rasheeda Purdie and KJ Kearney. To read it, visit Hospitality Design.com

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Michael Suomi's multifaceted career in architecture and interior design has included stints with Jordan Mozer and Associates in Chicago to Stonehill Taylor in New York, where he worked for 15 years before going out on his own with the New York-based Suomi Design Works. His namesake firm's budding portfolio includes the Pelham Hotel in New Orleans and the forthcoming Radical hotel in Asheville, North Carolina, which promises to push boundaries. As Suomi oft-repeats, "If you can dream it, it's possible."

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Born into a family of painters, musicians, and designers for Hallmark, and growing up in the art-centric city of Kansas City, Missouri, creativity was an encompassing part of Kellie Sirna's childhood. After pinpointing her passion for interiors and spending a decade at Duncan Miller, Sirna set out on her own. Her multifaceted firm, Studio 11 Design, which has offices in Austin, Dallas, and New York works with some of the biggest names in the hospitality including IHG, Kimpton, and Omni. Rather than limiting herself to one area, Sirna has grown her firm from solely interiors to branding, and art development and procurement.

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Amar Lalvani says, “You have to be bold at the right time.” Lalvani exemplifies his own advice with a career that has seen him working with some of the biggest names in hospitality. After studying business, Lalvani cut his teeth at Starwood Capital Group and Blackstone before landing at the Standard. Working alongside the brand's founder, André Balazs, Lalvani helmed its worldwide expansion—creating playful properties paired with creative F&B concepts as seen at the newly opened the Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon, which was designed by the in-house team and Spanish artist and designer Jaime Hayon. Now, as the executive chairman of Standard International and its sister company, Bunkhouse Group, the proven tastemaker has a slew of audacious new projects lined up, including the forthcoming Hotel Genevieve in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Intertwined by their love for design (and each other), Corinna Kretschmar-Joehnk and Peter Joehnk are the minds behind the Hamburg, Germany-based JOI Design. Together, they and their family-like team have designed more than 500 hotel projects around the world including Moxy Hamburg City in Germany and Il Salotto Wines & Resort in Italy.

This episode is brought to you by Craft and Main. For more information, go to craftandmain.com.

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Born in Lagos, Nigeria to a family of entrepreneurs, Victor Body Lawson seemed destined to build something of his own. After moving to the states, he discovered his passion for architecture while studying at Montgomery College, Catholic University, and Columbia University and went on to found his firm Body Lawson Associates. A certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Body Lawson strives to help close inequity gaps in hiring practices and through projects designed to empower communities.

This episode is brought to you by Craft and Main. For more information, go to craftandmain.com.

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Tristan du Plessis’ rise through the ranks of the design world has been meteoric, going from self-taught designer to partner at a firm to founding his namesake studio—all in less than 10 years. The South Africa native’s portfolio, which includes Rome’s Chapter Roma hotel and Gorgeous George in Cape Town, spans the globe.

This episode is brought to you by Craft and Main. For more information, go to craftandmain.com.

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Tina Norden has built her career at the esteemed Conran and Partners since graduating from University of Westminster, joining the firm in 1997, and becoming a partner in 2016. A quote from founder Terence Conran—which Norden often cites—is “Good design improves people’s lives," a lens that guides her and her team in their work for visionary spaces like the Park Hyatt Auckland and The Peninsula Hong Kong.

This episode is brought to you by Craft and Main. For more information, go to craftandmain.com.

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After cutting her teeth in the interiors department at SOM and Atelier Ace, Little Wing Lee became part of the Exhibition Design Team for the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. Now, the designer is busy helming her own firm, Studio & Projects, as well as overseeing Black Folks in Design, which she founded as a network for Black designers across multiple disciplines.

This episode is brought to you by Craft and Main. For more information, go to craftandmain.com.

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Born in Limerick, Ireland, Bill Walshe’s passion for design has taken him all over the world—from Dubai, working for the Jumeirah Group to sunny Los Angeles, California where he serves as the CEO of Viceroy Hotel Group. No matter where he is, Walshe’s approach to hospitality stays the same. As he says: “My fundamental essence of hospitality is very simple. We’re human beings who make other human beings happy.”

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A champion of diversity and inclusion, Kia Weatherspoon founded Determined by Design 10 years ago with the belief that everyone deserves well-designed spaces. Together, they’ve created intimate, community-oriented projects including Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee & Books in Philadelphia, and multifamily housing units in Washington, DC, using what Weatherspoon calls Design Equity to create an elevated standard for all, rather than luxury for a select few.

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Lionel Ohayon says "The most important thing you'll ever do is design your own path." Since founding ICRAVE in 2002, Ohayon has taken a transformative approach to design, integrating technology in spaces from hospitals to airports. After 20 years of award-winning work, ICRAVE has joined forces with Futures Intelligence Group and Skilled Creative to create Journey, a futurescaping company to imagine and execute the next generation of hospitality.

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Design duo Lisa Simeone and Gina Deary met while working at a firm in Chicago in the 1990s and became fast friends. Realizing they had a similar vision and passion for design, they took a leap of faith founding their own firm Simeone Deary Design Group in 2002. Their thoughtful approach can be seen in projects such as the Detroit Foundation Hotel and Hotel Kansas City—two historic buildings transformed into modern properties while retaining a strong sense of place. Named Hospitality Design magazine's 2022 Design Firm of the Year, these two—now principals of KTGY Simeone Deary Design Group, after a recent merger with the architecture firm—show no signs of slowing down.

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From learning how to weld for practical reasons to designing the iconic S-Chair for Cappellini to founding his eponymous label, Tom Dixon took an unconventional path to becoming one of Britain's most renowned designers

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Before founding Los Angeles-based Commune Design in 2004, Roman Alonso let his curiosity lead the way. Following his affinity for art and design led to experiences working for Hearst magazines, Barney's, renowned fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, and founding his own publishing company Greybull Press. Informed by his multifaceted career, Commune Design leads residential, commercial, and hospitality projects for clients like Ace Hotel, Opening Ceremony, and Goop.

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Before the term "wellness" became a buzzword and grew into the trillion-dollar industry it is today, Susie Ellis was championing the cause. In 2014, she founded the non-profit organization Global Wellness Institute dedicated to research and educating both public and private sectors about preventative health measures. As Chairman and CEO, Ellis also oversees the organization's annual Global Wellness Summit and Global Wellness Tourism Congress which bring together experts from around the world to share knowledge and influence change. Since the pandemic, Ellis has seen health and wellness brought into the public eye like never before and is happy to continue her groundbreaking work to help change peoples’ lives.

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David Galullo roots himself in the idea of placemaking and how people use spaces to connect and build communities rather than the utilitarian side of architecture. It is with this lens, Galullo founded his multidisciplinary firm, Rapt Studio, where he has been pushing boundaries for clients from Goop to Google for the last ten years. When approaching projects, Galullo wants his team to question everything, noting that just because something has been designed a certain way for years, doesn't mean it should stay that way. Find out why he says "there is no better time to be a designer than now."

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Cherishing the creative process, hotelier Jason Pomeranc continues to push it to its limits and redefine the hotel experience. First, in the early 2000s, as a cofounder of the industry-disrupting Thompson Hotels brand before following up his success with SIXTY Collective, the operating company of SIXTY Hotels. Pomeranc is also behind the recently opened, theater-centric Civilian hotel in New York—a natural fit for his design approach which he describes as cinematic. When entering a building for a new project, he likes to envision people in the space and watches it play out like a movie, which he then uses as inspiration.

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Libby Sims Patrick’s Southern U.S. roots are both the foundation of her upbringing and her approach to design. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Sims Patrick grew up in Decatur, Alabama and graduated from Auburn University before starting her career in Georgia. Reflecting the southern hospitality her mother, a restaurant owner, instilled in her, Sims Patrick says great relationships are as important as great design. Having built her firm, Sims Patrick Studio, through word-of-mouth marketing and referrals, she employs a people-first approach with her clients and team to this day. Since 1999, Sims Patrick has designed a myriad of residential and commercial projects across the U.S., including the historic Battle House Hotel and multiple locations for longtime client Sonesta. Next, she will step into the role of owner-developer with The River Runner Hotel in 2024.

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Dyonne Fashina, founder and principal designer of Toronto-based studio Denizens of Design, takes an empathy-first approach to her work. She designs with sensitivity, compassion, and a sense of cultural awareness. This is evident in projects like the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, where she sourced everything locally, reflecting the gallery’s emphasis on Canadian artists. In 2021, Fashina was honored with HD's inaugural HDAC Awards of Excellence, which recognizes exemplary work in the industry by those working to advance the field through the promotion of diversity, inclusivity, and equity. Indeed, throughout her career, Fashina has always remained true to herself. Trust the process, she says, and you’ll get to where you want to be.

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After graduating from Cornell with a bachelor's of architecture, Chad Oppenheim continued his education by living in Spain, Israel, Italy, and Japan. Once he returned to the United States, he spent five years working at Arquitectonica in Miami before founding Oppenheim Architecture + Design. Informed by his travels and appreciation for nature, his firm specializes in ambitious creations which celebrate the land such as the lush Ayla Golf Academy and Clubhouse in Aqaba, Jordan, or the Desert Rock Resort in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, built into natural rock formations.

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Sweden-based, Norway-born designer Erik Nissen Johansen always felt drawn to the creative world. After studying design in Florence, Italy, he went on to found his firm Stylt Trampoli AB, which has been pushing the boundaries of hospitality design worldwide for more than 30 years. Using a film director like creative approach, he often cites, “Never do the film without doing the script first.” When pitching to clients, each project is accompanied by a short, written story, connecting emotion to physical design. A testament to the firm's creatvity, one of his most recent projects is Pater Noster, an 1868 lighthouse off the coast of Sweden he and his team revitalized into a 10-room hotel.

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In November, during ICFF and WantedDesign, editor in chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen sat down with multidisciplinary design Ini Archibong for a candid one-on-one discussion. Archibong's work transcends disciplines: He’s crafted furniture for the likes of Bernhardt Design and Knoll, he’s designed a watch collection for French luxury brand Hermés, conceived the Pavilion of the African Diaspora for the London Design Biennale, and recently landed his first solo gallery exhibition in New York scored with his own music. The conversation dove into Archibong's process, which is centered on storytelling that combines empathy, philosophy, spirituality, and everything in between.

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Tye Farrow is a bit of a philosopher when it comes to design, seeking out projects that inspire hope where the future is unknown. He cut his teeth with renowned German-Canadian architect Eberhard Zeidler before starting Farrow Partners in Toronto in 2004. It’s here that he launched his visionary Cause Health movement, which creates places where people can thrive through an intricate co-creation process. In fact, his firm is working on a slew of audacious projects, including the ambitious Venice Archipelago, which proposes a necklace of new and existing linked islands that promote ecological health in a city that is being devastated by climate change.

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Born in Taiwan, Tony Chi moved to New York when he was 9 years old, cultivating a global sense about the world that is embedded into everything he touches, including the studio’s work with Rosewood Hotel Group. The firm has had a hand in bringing the brand international recognition, from revitalizing the Carlyle in New York to reimagining a Belle Epoque building in London. Chi compares his role to that of a composer, where he must ensure that every member of his symphony is playing the right notes for a flawless performance.

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Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu's Shanghai-based practice is as prolific as its work is thought-provoking, thanks to the leadership provided by the husband-and-wife duo, who met while they were studying architecture as undergraduates at the University of California, Berkeley. They both cut their teeth with Michael Graves before deciding to go out on their own in 2004 after moving back to Shanghai. One of their early projects was the Waterhouse hotel, which established Neri&Hu as a firm known for a sensitive approach to design. In addition to helming the firm, they both teach at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design as visiting professors. Beyond the iconic buildings they’ve created, the duo sees it as their legacy to give back what they’ve learned to the next generation of designers and architects.

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EDSA principal Kona Gray says he stumbled upon landscape architecture, and for the past 25 years, he’s been a crucial voice in creating immersive environments for resorts to senior living facilities and everything in between. One of Gray's initiatives is bringing more people of color into the field, where less than 10 percent of graduating landscape architects are BIPOC. He believes that everyone is meant to have good landscape architecture no matter the cost. It’s a view that fits into his definition of success: being a good, kind person who gives back. “Having a fantastic landscape makes you a better person,” he says. “It’s simple and we overlook it despite walking through it all day. These are things that are integral to human survival.”

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George Gottl is the chief creative officer and cofounder of UXUS, a strategic global design consultancy. But it’s also much more than that. When Gottl and his team are working with a client—whether that’s Sephora, H&M, or IHG—they are cultivating a one-of-a-kind experience. He honed this skill when he worked at Nike, which taught him how to craft ideas and tell a story. In fact, the former fashion designer has a soft spot for retail in particular. He used to own interiors store Relic in Los Angeles. It was a passion project of his that has extended to his work at UXUS. “Retail is a show,” he says, “and I love putting on a show.”

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Ed Ng, along with partner Terrance Ngan, founded the Hong Kong-based design firm in 1999. He counts the W Bali, which opened in 2009, as the firm’s big break, putting them on the map of international hospitality. Fast forward to today and the recently opened Argo in the Four Seasons Hong Kong is a full circle moment for Ng, who was born and bred here, and who sees the project as a personal and firm highlight—both as reimagining Hong Kong’s F&B scene and as a nod to the firm’s legacy of crafting design-forward, location-driven spaces that spark curiosity.

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We revisit our conversation with president and CEO of EDG Jennifer Johanson, who, later this year, will be inducted into HD's Platinum Circle. Johanson's illustrious career spans decades, including working at John Powers Associates s before joining Eric Engstrom’s firm in 1989 (the firm changed its name to EDG Design in 2007 when Engstrom retired). Today, she runs the company alongside her husband, Patrick O’Hare. Together, they have spearheaded such projects as the Viceroy DC, Lulu’s Lounge, and the Andaz Scottsdale.

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The former advertising executive turned real estate maven, Naomi Heaton recently launched the Other House, a members’ club-meets-longterm rental option for the next generation of travelers. Heaton set out to create a brand that focuses on flexibility and technology, thanks to a proprietary app that invites guests to create their own personalized journey all from their phone. This hospitality model is partially in response to the pandemic as people have become more discerning with how and why they travel. With two properties opening in London in the next two years, Heaton is planning to expand the brand globally, providing residents with a second home as they move from club to club around the world.

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Known for blending luxury with individuality, actress-turned-designer Anouska Hempel is a singular talent. The former Bond girl made her mark on the hotel industry in 1978 when she opened the Blakes in London—a new kind of lifestyle hotel that Hempel describes as a home away from home. From the Hempel Hotel in London and the Six Senses Duxton in Singapore, to her latest, the Monsieur George in Paris, Hempel says her designs flourish because of the people who populate the space. It makes sense for someone who says she loves every aspect of the process. “You don't start out making money,” she says, “you start out being the artist with a dream and then go and do it and hope for the best.”

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Antionette Carroll, president and CEO of Creative Reaction Lab, founded her St. Louis-based nonprofit after the Ferguson uprisings in 2014. She describes herself as a social entrepreneur; equity designer; and diversity, equity and inclusion specialist, and her mission is more important now than ever. Carroll is building a movement dedicated to highlighting youth-centered Black and Latinx voices in an effort to create actual systemic change. Here, she shares her inspiring journey from doing living room craft hours with her grandmother as a child to losing her 13-year-old brother to gun violence, which led her to conceive Creative Reaction Lab, a creative problem-solving process that gives communities the tools they need to dismantle systemic oppression and create a future of equity for all.

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Queens, New York-born and raised architect Deborah Berke fascination with design started as a teenager while imagining the inside of houses in her neighborhood. She later attended RISD, went back to school to learn about urban planning, and finally got involved with 21c Hotels having never designed a hotel at that point. Today, she manages Deborah Burke & Partners alongside ten other partners, covering everything from universities to high-end residential and hospitality. “One’s life should be the pursuit of the balance between generosity and fulfillment,” says the dean of architecture at Yale. “You’re never going to find the answer, but if you keep looking for it, both you and others will benefit.”

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Paula Scher's career is as wide ranging as it is inspirational. The former art student, who pivoted to graphic design, is also a children’s book author; she’s designed album covers for artists like John Prine; she launched her own magazine, Together, with Terry Koppel; and she became the first female partner at New York-based multidisciplinary firm Pentagram. Among her many clients, her indelible work has transformed the Public Theater in New York, where she learned many lessons over the course of the almost 30 year relationship. Though she has sometimes felt like a misfit, she sees that as another way of rebelling against the belief of what she’s supposed to be. From the beginning, she says, “I have tried to defy expectations.”

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For this episode, we toe the line of hospitality a bit with a chat with entrepreneur and cofounder of Airbnb Joe Gebbia. There’s no question that what he’s built with partner Brian Chesky has been among the most major paradigm shifts in the travel industry since its inception. Hatching the lucrative idea out of personal necessity in 2007, when he was just in his mid 20s, the start-up has only accelerated and expanded into much more than an online booking service in the years since, and today the brand is, quite literally, a household name. Our conversation with this brilliant mind spans the first idea he ever tried to sell (Hint: it’s a cushion), how he recruited his cofounders at the onset of the Great Recession, his love for air beds, and how Airbnb is evolving to better serve the future.

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Hailing from northern Italy, Network of Architecture, or noa*, cofounder and architect Lukas Rungger cites Roman architecture as a major influence on his career. He started out as a professor in the region before he moved to London and cut his teeth with the likes of Softroom Architects and Matteo Thun. It’s there that he met his business partner Stefan and they started noa* in Italy in 2010. Their approach is collaborative and holistic, melding the interiors with the land and opting quality versus quantity when it comes to the projects they take on. Take the recent GFELL hotel in Italy, which they dub a hotel under a barn, or the Floris Hotel, which integrates itself into the surrounding park. His and his firm’s work and the lessons learned along the way serve as perfect inspirations for today’s world.

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Cofounder of his namesake development company, Keith Menin has spent his career building an eclectic portfolio in his native Miami with such notable openings as the Sanctuary South Beach, which he conceived when he was only 23 years old. Included in those buzzy projects is the redo of the Shelborne South Beach Hotel, and soon, the 51-story Natiivo Miami. The residential-hospitality-lifestyle hybrid is a nod to the evolving industry, as well as to Menin’s ability to create exciting spaces that respond to how people live, work, and play today.

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Robin Staten started her career in higher education but pivoted to hospitality in 2018 when she wanted do something that contributed more significantly to the world. Enter Tiny Urban Escapes. Launching in her native Indianapolis, Staten repurposes shipping containers into idyllic getaways that act as a welcome respite from city life.

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It seems there’s nothing Marquise Stillwell and his New York design and research firm can’t do. His projects promote inclusion and equity, rethink the norm, and bring people together, seen in forward-thinking concepts for Black Girls Code, the Lowline, and the DC public library. Stillwell is also a film producer and co-founder of Urban Ocean Lab, an organization focused on developing policy solutions for coastal cities. Our conversation spans the different, fascinating facets of his career, and it’s clear Stillwell’s mantra can be boiled down to one succinct remark he made: “Empathy is a muscle. It’s something you have to practice and build every day.”

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Larry Traxler joined Hilton in 2009 as senior vice president of global design, where he's helped double its portfolio to 6,500 hotels and overseen brand launches and refreshes that have transformed Hilton into a global powerhouse in nearly every segment. Traxler's thoughtful approach to his career and life is what makes him stand out in this industry. “It’s better to be lucky than good,” he says. “If you’re passionate about everything that you do and invest everything you have, opportunities will land in your lap.”

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This week, we spoke with creative director and principal of her own studio Nicole Hollis. A master of both hospitality and residential interiors, the renowned designer got her start in Manhattan studying at FIT before packing everything up and moving to San Francisco without so much as a job offer. It was the right move. She first became part of the team that conceived W hotels, and then cut her teeth with Howard Backen before starting her own firm. Almost two decades later, she is known for her curated black and white spaces that marry architecture and interior design seen in her warm, residentially inspired spin on hotels such as The Candler and El Prado, much of which is captured in her first Monograph, released last year. In this enlightening interview, she discusses what drives and excited her and our changing world.

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An unabashed free spirit hailing from Texas, president and CEO of EDG Jennifer Johanson walks us through her unplanned entry into the hospitality world, her evolved managing style thanks to COVID, the importance of collaboration, what she loves about restaurants versus hotels, and her secrets to success with an inspiring matter of fact approach. Her illustrious career spanning decades, our conversation spans her search on the San Francisco waterfront for a job to her instant classic the Andaz Scottsdale. Later this year, we also have the honor of inducting Jennifer into HD’s Platinum Circle.

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Since she was a child growing up in Detroit, Kimberly Dowdell, the former president of NOMA and principal in the Chicago office at HOK, saw how the built environment can improve the quality of urban life, leading her to pursue degrees in both public policy and architecture. This summer, amid Black Lives Matter protests and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, NOMA—with Kimberly at the helm—addressed these twin crises by emphasizing the importance of mentorship, representation, inclusivity, and equity. This shift to advocacy and empowering communities has been a big part of Dowdell's journey, allowing her to tap into a reservoir of resilience, she says, that keeps her fighting for another day to do the work that’s so important.

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Prolific designer and architect Jeffrey Beers grew up traveling the world with his parents, which instilled in him a love of hospitality and design—a skill he honed under a who’s who of mentors, including Dale Chihuly, Oscar Niemeyer, and I.M. Pei. For the self-described rebel entrepreneur, his passion for the industry is as present today as it was more than three decades ago, cementing his legacy as one of the forefathers of hospitality design today.

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On this week’s What I’ve Learned podcast, hoteliers Alex and Carrie Vik of Vik Retreats discuss their properties, primarily found in South America, and sustainably immersing guests into their natural surroundings. In this illuminating conversation, the couple details how they first fell in love with Uruguay on family vacations and holidays before building properties there. They also speak to their passions for wine, art, agriculture, and the little things that make a design work.

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Long-time friends and partners at Toronto-based studio DesignAgency, Allen Chan, Matt Davis, and Anwar Mekhayech, discuss their beginnings working in restaurants and designing hotel branding before taking on sizable projects such as The Generator and Momofuku. Our extensive conversation puts their energy and kinship on display as they detail how they came together, their studio’s ethos, and what’s next for hospitality design.

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Among her many accomplishments, the tennis superstar has found time to launch her own design firm, V Starr Interiors, as well as start her own fashion brand, EleVen. Unsurprisingly, Williams is driven by a competitive spirit that has made her a noteworthy contender on and off the court.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

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London born and raised designer Tara Bernerd’s sprawling career spans leaving school at age 16, a stint at Vogue magazine, and invaluable industry experience at London firm YOO before setting off to build her own firm. She credits her greatest inspirations and mentors as journalist Jane Mulvagh, design legends John Hitchcox and Philippe Starck, as well as her father, who she says taught her her greatest lesson to date. In our conversation, she details her work with Equinox Hotels, her favorite travel destinations, and dealing with COVID-19.

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Though born in Ohio, award winning chef and restauranteur Andrew Carmellini’s Italian roots have pervaded much of his storied career, which includes New York City mainstays new and old, from Locanda Verde, The Dutch, and Bar Primi to across the East River with Leuca and Westlight in the new William Vale. The James Beard and Michelin star honoree talks through his foundational trips through Italy and France’s respective wine countries, cooking for the Cuomos, the cities that entice him outside the Big Apple, and much, much more.

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Sheldon Scott is an artist of many disciplines based in Washington, DC who is bringing attention to the crucial issues of racial inequality and systemic racism through his work. In fact, he was among the inaugural finalists in performance art for the Smithsonian’s 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, for which he kneeled on a burlap sack and hulled rice for six days straight as a tribute to his ancestors. Scott started his career in psychology, finding Boys & Girls Club of America before diving into the art world. Today, he is also the director of culture at Eaton DC, entering the hospitality fray with a brand committed to activism and inclusivity. In our fascinating interview, Scott clued us in on what makes his artistic and entrepreneurial mind tick.

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Industry legend Roger Thomas, the designer behind such iconic Las Vegas mainstays as the Wynn and the Bellagio, details his entire career from first meeting Steve Wynn to taking his work across the globe and starting his own product line. Full of anecdotes from his stories history on the Vegas strip and beyond, the endlessly charming Thomas reflects on his career while offering sage advice for the creatives dreaming up tomorrow's future.

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Inspiring architect Danish Kurani is not only rethinking the design of our educational institutions, but innovating the entire concept as well. A true disruptor, Danish has a simple mission to build projects with empathy and humanity by abashedly challenging the status quo. Whether he’s spearheading and enriching designs for Google’s Code Next Stem Lab in Oakland, California, Black Girls Code in New York, or the upcoming Riverbend school in India, Danish says he wants to solve society’s greatest problems with socially aware, inclusive, and democratic design solutions. They are using design for good, he says, to build things that make people’s lives better.

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In a previously recorded episode, the iconic Ian Schrager joined editor in chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen for a fireside chat during HD's Elevate conference held in October in New York. During the hourlong discussion, Schrager was candid about his Studio 54 days and his friendship with longtime business partner Steve Rubell. No matter the role, he says he's always striving to push experience over the edge.

This episode was brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com

Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

Chef Daniel Boulud is known for his career-defining time at Le Cirque and the award-winning Daniel. The success of the fine dining institution led to his growing food empire, but Boulud's influence reaches outside of the kitchen. Beyond Michelin Stars and James Beard Awards, he considers cultivating young talent one of his greatest accomplishments. While the industry may have to be reimagined in this new reality, he says, the one thing it won’t lose is its talent, passion, and commitment.

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Hong Kong-based designer and architect Joyce Wang made a name for herself with the career-defining Ammo and Mott 32 restaurants in Hong Kong. She continues to impress with notable launches like the spa and wellness component of the inaugural Equinox Hotel in Hudson Yards New York. The space embodies her skills as a designer: She takes time to understand the context of the project and then, she says, she chips away at it until it reveals something beautiful.

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Richmond International's Fiona Thompson started her career at the London-based firm in the 1980s and returned once again in 1992 as Richmond was entering a new chapter. In the last 30 years, Thompson has been integral in helping the firm grow its hospitality practice, designing notable projects like the Langham Chicago and the Four Seasons Budapest. In her tenure, she has taken a design-first perspective in running the company, cultivating young talent and encouraging designers to be open to what’s next.

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Not only a prolific chef and restaurateur, Marcus Samuelsson is the author of a number of cookbooks, including The Rise, which celebrates contemporary Black cooking through the lens of the most influential Black chefs in the field. It embodies his mission to reclaim Black culinary traditions while energizing a new generation of chefs.

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Partners in business and life, the Tel Aviv-based Alon Baranowitz and Irene Kronenberg's design philosophy is centered on a deep, contextual, and narrative-driven approach that has helped create lasting partnerships, including with W hotels and hotelier Liran Wizman’s Sircle brand. At the end of the day, they say, a successful project comes down to the people—watching them connect, exchange ideas, and celebrate life together.

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Jim Looney's journey to founding one of the most prolific hospitality design firms in the industry started with a chance meeting with Trisha Wilson. Six weeks later, he moved to Dallas to work with her. It was a formative time for Looney as he had a front-row seat to see the industry transform into what it is today. In 1995, he launched Looney & Associates, which has offices in Dallas, Chicago, and Hawaii. As the firm celebrates 25 years, Looney reflects on a career that brought him from Memphis to Arkansas and now Dallas.

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Rachel Gutter is a pioneer in the green-building movement. Now, as president of the IWBI, she is implementing standards that embody a holistic wellbeing approach. If we continue to find the intersection of purpose and profit in our own lives, she says, then we will not only be much happier as individuals but the planet and society as a whole will benefit as well.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, visit globalallies.com.

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Jacobs is a pioneer in the wellness movement, making it a hallmark of the brand. He has hired the best and brightest minds—from sleep scientists to wellness experts—to deliver transformative experiences for guests. His story is equally compelling. He speaks six languages, went to college in Paris, studied art history in Florence, and has lived in nearly a dozen countries. It’s a storied career that led him to Four Seasons, Starwood Capital Group, and now Singapore with Six Senses.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

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The visionary hotelier founded Joie de Vivre hotels when he was only 26 years old, transforming an inner-city motel in San Francisco into the second largest boutique hotel brand in the world. After 24 years, he sold the company, but it didn’t take long for Airbnb to tap Conley to help turn the travel startup into a powerhouse global hospitality brand in the share economy. His most recent venture, the Modern Elder Academy, is the world’s first midlife wisdom school, complete with a beachfront campus in the heart of Baja California Sur, Mexico

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When Beth Campbell was 10, she began working at her parents’ restaurants in Pittsburgh and was managing them by the time she was a teenager. That experience solidified her passion for hospitality. As CEO of Wilson Associates, she has cultivated an office environment where learning, education, and emotional intelligence take precedence. Trust the people around you, she says, because you’re not alone.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

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Meyer Davis' refined residential style has attracted many hospitality greats, including chef Andrew Carmellini for Locanda Verde, Barry Sternlicht for the 1 Hotel South Beach, and Dana Kalczak of Four Seasons. For the past two decades, the duo has continued to mark their territory with projects that embody their firm's ethos of creating inspirational environments that leave a lasting impression.

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After cutting his teeth styling for retail catalogues and showrooms and working with Martha Stewart, Kemper Hyers' life changed forever when he joined Barry Sternlicht at Starwood, helping to launch such brands as Baccarat and 1 Hotels. Like the rest of the design community, Hyers continues to grapple with today's new normal, but he remains optimistic. The hotel industry will be back, he says, but the trick is to be thoughtful and mindful.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

We spoke with Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), to understand the state of the hospitality industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Rogers, the $2 trillion stimulus package recently signed into law by President Trump, is less about stimulus and more about preservation. But he does see some light at the end of the tunnel, and even applauds hoteliers who are allowing their hotels to be used as medical facilities or for quarantine locations during these difficult times.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

When you think of the names that have defined the industry, David Rockwell is on the top of that list. Likely, many of your favorite spaces have that signature Rockwell touch. Whether that’s Nobu restaurants in New York, his stage sets for Broadway, or the recently opened Equinox Hotel in Hudson Yards, Rockwell's hallmark—an intersection of theater and hospitality—creates a thrilling choreography that starts at the entrance. “You don't want the set doing the same thing the actors are doing,” he says. Because of this, Rockwell says his success can be credited to taking chances and realizing there is no safe choice when it comes to design.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

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Gary Dollens has been with Hyatt Hotels since 1977, when he took an entry level position with a Hyatt in Oak Brook, Illinois. It sparked his love affair with hotels and Hyatt, specifically, which has lasted to this day. In 2004, he switched from operations to overseeing architecture and design for the brand, while also helping guide Hyatt into an exciting new decade with acquisitions like Two Roads Hospitality. In fact, he shares how saying yes more often than no has been his greatest lesson learned.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

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Blake Danner's gregarious personality served him well, leading to jobs with Ian Schrager, Andrew Zobler, and for the past few months, at Proper Hospitality as chief operating officer. The lifestyle-meets-luxury brand is rapidly expanding with properties in San Francisco, Santa Monica, and Austin, all featuring an eclectic design by Kelly Wearstler. Behind it all is Danner, who says he loves being the producer, orchestrating unforgettable moments leading to his ultimate sign of success: happy guests.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

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Having worked for the likes of Nike, W Hotels, and Ian Schrager, Aaron Richter took a risk when he joined Equinox during a time when the fitness industry lacked design direction. Now, as senior vice president of design, Richter is rewriting the rules of what a guest experience should be. For its brand evolution from fitness clubs to hotels, Equinox calls itself a new kind of luxury, powered by possibilities. When many are trying to figure out the $4.2 trillion wellness industry, Equinox is leading the pack.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

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Designer and architect André Fu made a name for himself a decade ago with the career-making Upper House in his native Hong Kong. It was his first hotel and his big break only a few years after launching his firm AFSO. It embodies the full cinematic experience, which is at the core of all his projects. whether that’s designing pop-ups for brands like Louis Vuitton or crafting sumptuous getaways like the still-to-come Capella Maldives.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

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As a trailblazer in the wellness space, the Irish-born designer first got her start in fashion, but is now known for her zen-like designs for the likes of Six Senses and Miraval that immerse guests in all five senses.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

The tables are turned on this very special episode of HD's "What I've Learned" podcast. Interviewed by Adam Kubryk of Global Allies, editor in chief and senior vice president of the design group Stacy Shoemaker Rauen talks all things hospitality, from how the industry has evolved in the past two decades to building a community centered on a people-first approach. "It's been a real privilege," she says, "and I can't wait to continue to elevate this industry that is like home [to me]."

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

Always a person who wanted to build things, born entrepreneur Kane Sarhan had many early careers. He started a college gossip magazine, was an assistant to a venture capitalist, and founded the Enstitute, a mentorship program for college-aged students. One of his funders was Barry Sternlicht of Starwood Capital Group. He then joined the iconic hotelier as brand director for the launch of 1 Hotels and Baccarat Hotel. Now, Sarhan is entering the wellness game with membership club the Well in New York, which has the audacious mission to be a one-stop shop for mind, body, and soul connection.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

Father-son duo Alan and Michael Fuerstman of Montage and Pendry Hotels, respectively, both caught the hospitality bug early. Alan cut his teeth at the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona and the Bellagio in Las Vegas before founding Montage Hotels & Resorts in 2002. Michael, for his part, inherited his dad’s love of hospitality. Beginning his career as the coveted pool boy at the Bellagio, he eventually joined the family business in 2009, where he helped create lifestyle brand Pendry—a natural next step for the hotel company that is responsible for reinventing luxury through a forward-thinking lens.

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

The iconic Ian Schrager joined editor in chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen for a fireside chat during HD's annual Elevate conference held in October in New York. During the hourlong discussion, Schrager was candid about his Studio 54 days and his friendship with longtime business partner Steve Rubell. Always humble, Schrager said he's not afraid to make mistakes and try something else. Whether he's cultivating gamechanging hotels like Morgans or expanding his EDITION and PUBLIC brands, he says it's about pushing experience over the edge.

This episode was brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com

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Kit Kemp of Firmdale Hotels has been lauded for her eclectic design style that doesn't shy away from color and pattern. But it's her meticulous attention to detail that has elevated her to icon status. She carefully curates and champions work from venerated and emerging artists and craftspeople alike. No matter how perfect the design, she says, it always comes down to the people who make each hotel come alive.

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Born and bred in Toronto, Dana Kalczak has spent the last couple of decades at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts where she's played an integral part in creating a company that doesn't chase trends but deliberately takes the time to research and understand its guest. New hotels in Philadelphia and Montreal showcase the brand's ability to adapt while still being able to create magical, unforgettable moments.

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Josh Wyatt's career has had many iterations, with hospitality being his backbone since he founded Generator Hostels in 2007. The gamechanging brand led to many other opportunities, including at Neuehouse, where he's marrying the best of both worlds in a members' club that celebrates great design in urban settings. He credits his success to surrounding himself with good people who know where the car is going. If you trust them and just get in, he says, good things will happen.

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Julie Monk grew up in the Midwest but her career has taken her all over the world from Denmark to New York and Hong Kong, where she is now based. The trained architect has worked on projects big and small, but she points to two things that have solidified her passion for the hospitality industry: the merger between BBG-BBGM and HOK and her time living and working in Asia. Both of which transformed her worldview, allowing her to be fully immersed in all facets of design.

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This episode originally aired on December 25th, 2018.

Brad Wilson started his career working with his mom to open a series of bakeries throughout Chicago. It was a natural step to go into hotels, helping to launch brands such as W and the gamechanging Ace Hotels. His pragmatic approach to hospitality has evolved into a deep love and understanding for the industry. "I'm sort of a junkie" for it, he says. "I crave it."

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As Dream Hotel Group continues to grow and launch more brands, including Unscripted Hotels and the upcoming 5-Star Chatwal Lodge in the Catskill Mountains, CEO Jay Stein credits a community-oriented approach to Dream's success. In fact, he points to a piece of advice from his father that has become a core value of Dream's philosophy: to show respect to everyone on the team. It's a key tenet that has helped make Dream a lifestyle juggernaut.

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Growing up, Lauren Rotett always wanted to do something creative and set her sights on architecture school. The Texas native first cut her teeth in corporate design with SOM, eventually going out on her own and landing her first hotel job, the Surrey, on the Upper East Side of New York. With three offices across the U.S., today, Rottet's firm is heralded for melding residentially inspired interiors with dynamic, architecturally driven solutions.

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Ennismore's Charlie North has been leading the hotel developer's interiors practice since 2015, after cutting his teeth with the likes of the late David Collins, Alexander Waterworth, and Martin Brudnizki. Recently named to our 2019 Wave of the Future class, North is behind the Hoxton's growth Stateside, as well as helping to spearhead the redo of the posh Gleneagles in Scotland. With each property, he's creating thoughtful, layered spaces that encourage guests to linger.

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As one of the Fab Five, Queer Eye's Bobby Berk is a self-made designer whose road to celebrity wasn't easy. He left his small town in Missouri at age 15, couch surfing and sleeping in his car while doing double shifts at Applebee's to make ends meet. A job at Restoration Hardware then Portico led him to start Bobby Berk Home. Now, as a fan favorite on Netflix's hit show, he has no plans of slowing down.

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Hospitality rising stars Marcus Carey and Damon Lawrence are shaking up the hotel industry with Homage Hospitality, one of the first brands catered to the African American traveler by honoring and preserving black culture through design and programming. With one property open in New Orleans and three more on the boards, it seems they're onto something.

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In May at HD Expo in Las Vegas, editor in chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen sat down with keynote speaker Andrew Zobler, CEO and founder of the Sydell Group. The hourlong conversation touched on everything from working with Barry Sternlicht to starting the Sydell Group, named for his grandmother and known for its collection of brands, including the NoMad, the Line, and the Freehand. In this rare appearance, he shined a light on the evolution of lifestyle hotels.

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Jonathan Tisch, CEO and chairman of Loews Hotels, is a lifelong hotelier who jokingly refers to himself as a modern-day Eloise, having lived and worked in hotels all of his life. His properties can be found in immersive destinations that give people many reasons to visit. As he says, the hotel industry is just another arm of the entertainment industry.

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Christine Gachot credits much of her success with being in the right place at the right time. She worked on memorable projects like Gucci with Bill Sofield and helped André Balazs launch the Standard in New York before founding Gachot with her husband, John, in 2012. Since then, they've helped shape brands like Glossier, Eaton Workshop, and most recently Shinola, which opened its first upscale hotel in Detroit this year.

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A profound love of contemporary art as well as a desire to revitalize his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky led Steve Wilson and his wife Laura Lee Brown to create a hotel that showcased art in a museum-like setting. That idea grew into 21c Museum Hotels, which now counts eight properties in the U.S., mostly in rehabbed buildings, with a recent acquisition by Accor set to expand the brand internationally.

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Inspired by his restaurateur father, Will Guidara always knew he wanted to be in the business and open a New York restaurant. That dream soon became a reality. The Danny Meyer alum, along with chef Daniel Humm, took over and reimagined the Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park and reinvented the hotel restaurant, first with the NoMad New York and since then in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

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As a trailblazer in the wellness space, the Irish-born designer first got her start in fashion, but is now known for her zen-like designs for the likes of Six Senses and Miraval that immerse the guests in all five senses.

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Paligroup's Avi Brosh started his own residential development company at 30. When a client noted that if he added a restaurant and lobby, he'd have the perfect hotel, he decided to try his hand at hospitality, opening his first property in 2008. Since then, he has launched multiple Pali locations throughout LA and is expanding to Miami, Seattle, and San Francisco. His success lies in the fact that he is involved in every aspect of the design, listening to his intuition to create hyperlocal experiences.

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When Pesek noticed that restaurants were missing out on lucrative business during the day, he created Spacious, a technology-meets-hospitality company that turns vacant locations into bustling workspaces. As CEO and founder, Pesek is rethinking how we work today, equating his business more to a coffee shop than a traditional coworking space.

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Working alongside such revered chefs as Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, and Charlie Palmer, Tihany solidified his reputation as the father of restaurant design. "For me, restaurants are portraits of my clients," he says. "They always have been." As he embarks on his 40th year as a designer, one thing remains true: his unwavering commitment to his 15-person team.

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Bashar Wali left Syria 30 years ago, and got bit by the hospitality bug while in school. Now he's president of Provenance Hotels with over 14 fiercely independent properties that are full of human connections. He's not in the hotel business, he says, but in the theater business—always striving to create memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

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Dutch designer Marcel Wanders doesn't always play by the design rules, opting for concepts that are lighthearted and surprising but always timeless. Take his Knotted chair, which put him on the map and transformed the design landscape. Whimsy meets playfulness in everything Wanders' touches, including his latest, the Mondrian Doha, which is a feast for the senses.

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Among her many accomplishments, the tennis superstar has found time to launch her own design firm, V Starr Interiors, as well as start her own fashion brand, EleVen. Unsurprisingly, Williams is driven by a competitive spirit that has made her a noteworthy contender on and off the court.

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Brad Wilson started his career working with his mom to open a series of bakeries throughout Chicago. It was a natural step, then, to go into hotels, helping to launch brands such as W and the gamechanging Ace Hotels. His pragmatic approach to hospitality has evolved into a deep love and understanding for the industry. "I'm sort of a junkie" for it, he says. "I crave it."

This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

Alexandra Champalimaud's owes her storied career to perseverance, gumption, and unwavering self-confidence. She fled Portugal and ended up in Montreal, starting her own design firm with just three people in her apartment. Today, she's responsible for 52 in New York. She credits her success to being tenacious and paying attention to the details.

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Since the Brooklyn-based Studio Tack came on the scene six years ago, Brian Smith and his team have become a highly sought-after firm known for imbuing each space with an authentic touch. Perhaps nothing has resonated more with the design world than the firm’s reimagination of the motel. From the Sound View Inn in Greenport, New York to the Anvil Hotel in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Studio Tack has a found a niche that celebrates the great American road trip in a modern, yet nostalgic way.

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Margaret McMahon has had a storied career, though her path was a bit unconventional. After a summer of windsurfing and smoking pot, McMahon's mother encouraged her to find work at a temp agency. As luck, or fate, would have it, that led her to Trisha Wilson of Wilson Associates, who "saw something in me that I didn't see in myself," says McMahon. After three decades with Wilson, she left to helm Wimberly Interiors, the design arm of architecture firm WATG in New York, which now boasts multiple offices and a vast portfolio of high-end hospitality and residential projects that can be credited to McMahon's passion, savvy, and open-mindedness.

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Anda Andrei’s design personality is apparent in each of her properties, including her work for the Asbury Park development in New Jersey. She credits her collaborations with Ian Schrager, Philippe Starck, and Herzog & de Meuron for enriching her design sense, ultimately leading her to go out on her own. “I felt like I owed it to myself to give it a try before it's too late.” It wasn’t an easy road for Andrei, who fled her native Romania and landed in New York in 1981 as an asylum-seeking refugee. But thanks to her tenacity, ambition, and confidence, she is one of the most interesting and compelling designers in the industry today.

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Even before he knew what the word meant, Kevin Boehm knew he wanted to be a restaurateur. Though his journey was unconventional—he dropped out of college and took a chance on Panama City, Florida where he opened his first restaurant—Boehm is now a venerated F&B leader, known for his chef-driven, design-led restaurants in Chicago (the Girl and the Goat, Momotaro, and Swift & Sons, to name a few), all under the Boka Restaurant Group umbrella, the company he founded with partner Rob Katz.

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As CEO of Virgin Hotels, Raul Leal has taken on the immense task of helping bring Virgin's distinct, cheeky vision to life. The first hotel in Chicago was "a labor of love," he says. He's helmed the company since 2012 (joining in 2010 as president), but the Cuban-born veteran hotelier has long been drawn to lifestyle hotels, starting Tecton's boutique division Desires Hotels before making the switch to work for Richard Branson. For more information and a complete transcript of the interview, go to hospitalitydesign.com/people/podcasts

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