Conference Program

The schedule of content, in partnership with NEWH, has been curated with a unique focus on the South and LATAM region’s hotel, resort, and private island destination market. Take a look at the full program and speaker line-up below.

Thursday 6 June

1.00pm - 2.00pm

GMBHA Lunch & Learn

Join GMBHA and IHG Hotels & Resorts at this Q&A-cross-networking event! This session is designed to provide you with insider knowledge on procurement processes and what goes into a successful renovation project at IHG. As well as giving you the opportunity to pose important questions to industry buyers and connect you with your peers in the local and regional hospitality community.

 

Location: HRDS Lounge

Speakers

Bruce Goff
Manager, Property Improvement, Premium - Luxury & Lifestyle Brands, IHG Hotels & Resorts
Wendy Kallergis
President & CEO, GMBHA
2.30pm - 3.00pm

Horizon Watch: Developments & trends in tomorrow’s designs and destinations

  • Responding to current trends across southern states, Caribbean, and LATAM: What’s the new cool? 
  • Which destinations do the next generation want to visit? 
  • What’s the storytelling to attract people to these remote destinations? 
  • Developments in the eco-tourism market, and how does this impact interiors? 
  • What are the success factors for expanding portfolios in city/urban settings? 
  • Tackling supply chain challenges – availability, reliability, relationships
  • Design processes & project spotlights: Success factors

 

Location: HRDS Lounge

Speakers

Carolina Pinheiro
Vice President - Development, LATAM , Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Ron Swidler
CEO, The Gettys Group
Claudia Diaz-Gonzalez
Associate Vice President, Private Destination Development, Royal Caribbean International
Rado Ivanov
VP Global Design - US & Canada, Marriott International
4.00pm - 4.30pm

Spotlight on the Caribbean

  • Overview of projects in the Caribbean
  • Private islands: developing destinations & upscale products
  • Supply chain & design challenges
  • What have been the success factors for projects in the region?
  • Building strong community relationships, attracting local talent
  • Commonalities and contrasting challenges across different islands in the region, including the Galapagos Islands
  • Can “All Inclusive” be luxury?

 

Location: HRDS Lounge

Speakers

Darcy Lawrence
Principal, Senior Vice President, HKS
Juan Kayser
Owner, Orgal SA Developers - Six Senses Galapagos
Jennifer Peralta
Architect & Interior Designer, Iberostar Group
Marisol Fisher
Vice President Design Services Latin America & Caribbean, Hyatt
Giovanni Medina Marenco
Associate Lead Designer, OBMI

Friday 7 June

9.00am - 10.30am

Sustainable Design Summit: Working Group Breakfast

Sustainable Design Summit breakout sessions come to Miami! During this in-person Working Group, suppliers and buyers will have the opportunity to participate in a hands-on workshop covering key topics and challenges facing those working within the hospitality travel interiors sectors.

Refurbishments: A circularity state of mind
  • Developing a circularity mindset – how to embed responsible thinking and values?
  • From product life cycle to the sustainability ecosystem: what are the tools, tactics and partnerships which promote full circularity?
  • Simple approaches to lifetime extension of products in hospitality interiors
  • How does circularity fit with the business case in the context of refurbishments?
  • What does the re-manufacturing flowchart look like: case studies & examples


Places at this roundtable session and networking breakfast are now full. Join the waitlist.

 

Speakers

Korina Stark
Co-Founder, Circular Spring
Kim Bjørge Hofslundsengen
VP Hotel Operations, Hurtigruten
Giacomo Villa
COO & Head of Sales, Manifattura Testori SpA
Cristina Stefani
Marketing & Communication Strategist, Aquafil
10.45am - 11.15am

Lifestyle goes corporate – is it an oxymoron?

  • How organically have boutique/ independent hotels moved into the mainstream? Or has this trend chiefly been driven by acquisitions?
  • Using design to attract guests who are looking for more than cookie-cutter replications: injecting the quirky into lifestyle hotels
  • Delivering lifestyle interiors through guest experience
  • Lifestyle hotels – bringing local communities to life

 

Location: HRDS Lounge

Speakers

Gamal El Fakih Rodriguez
Vice President of Operations (Luxury), Caribbean and Latin America , Marriott International
Sebastian Kingston
Brand Director, Tempo by Hilton
Corinne Huard
Founder and Principal, MAED Collective
Giancarlo Pietri
Principal & Creative Director, Urban Robot Associates
11.45am - 12.30pm

Next-gen hospitality: Trends reshaping guest lifestyles

Horizon watch – what will be the next trends for guest lifestyle? Will sustainable travel considerations remain a priority? What will be the lifestyle of tomorrow’s rich? What will they want to spend money on as they live for longer? How can we as designers provide the guest experience/lifestyle they want to align with? How will attitudes to travel and exploration develop? What will be the next prevailing attitude towards health, fitness and self care? And where are the opportunities for cruise interiors?

  • How are Gen Z spending behaviours different from the Boomers? How are their lifestyles and decision-making different?
  • Gen Z has different patterns of spending – they have more disposable income, are not tied by a mortgage or job - so can travel. They are entering their careers as remote workers. How to blend leisure with careers?
  • What is considered a guest experience by Gen Z…/ other generations?
  • How are behaviours changing – not just new behaviours of younger people, but older people’s behaviours have changed too over the past 10 years
  • Tracking behaviours: how have multi-generational family holidays evolved?
  • How is solo travel changing? E.g. remote workers with a laptop
  • We can’t design one vessel or one hotel for just one generation. How to manage differing expectations?

 

Location: HRDS Lounge

Speakers

Emilie Ørgård Posniak Hansen
Architect, OSK Design
Philipp Mirow
Director, Upscale Brands, Choice Hotels International
Linh Nguyen
Senior Interior Design Manager, Holland America Line & Seabourn
1.00pm - 2.00pm

NEWH Lunch & Learn

This panel discussion-cross-networking event is designed to share insider knowledge on the challenges and successes of designing at appropriate budget level, insight into decision-making processes for ultra-luxurious and lifestyle brands, and more. As well as providing an opportunity to connect with the local and regional hospitality design community during the networking lunch that follows the content.

 

Location: HRDS Lounge

Speakers

Beth Reitzel-Gordon
Manager, FF&E – Hotels, Universal Creative
Cynthia Guthrie
Executive Advisor, NEWH, Inc. / Guthrie Associates, Inc.
Trisha Poole
President, Design Poole Inc.