The Hospitality Design Exposition and Conference (HD Expo 2015) was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, from May 13 to 16. Presented by Hospitality Design magazine, it’s the premier trade show offering the newest and most innovative products for interior designers, architects and developers catering to the hospitality industry.
Hospitality professionals are looking for opportunities to turn this year’s challenges into tomorrow’s solutions, and this year’s HD Expo really delivered.
Taking on Problems with Functional Flair
For example, designers looking to improve the aesthetics of an acoustical tile ceiling were presented with a simple yet elegant solution. WoodTrac by Sauder offers beautiful wood panels and a mounting system that can be quickly and easily installed into an existing drop-down framework.
In the same vein, Danver Stainless Outdoor Kitchens presented an elegant food service solution for resort properties, casinos, hotels, luxury golf courses and country clubs.
Their mobile outdoor kitchens and bartending stations are designed to be wheeled to whatever outdoor area guests demand. Danver also offers a line of rolling planters from Campania. These planters work with the neighboring Brown Jordan luxury outdoor furniture to create a defined area for social gatherings.
Giving Fireplaces New Life
With new safety and air quality requirements going into effect in December 2015, a host of companies are introducing new fireplace solutions. Here are three different approaches we noted at the show:
Napoleon Fireplaces have reimagined and re-engineered gas and wood fireplaces into attractive products that meet requirements for burn safety and low emissions. For architects, the new designs offer more flexibility, avoiding the need for chimneys or heat shielding. The new products are not only attractive, their minimal infrastructure needs also give designers greater freedom in fireplace placement.
For a completely different fireplace solution, Dimplex North America’s Opti-myst system offers a surprisingly realistic flame effect using water vapor and light. The revolutionary approach features glowing logs molded from actual hardwood, glowing ash, and a water vapor smoke effect. The result is so authentic it will be mistaken for an actual wood burning fireplace.
EcoSmart Fire offers a wide range of commercial design possibilities using alcohol-fueled bioethanol burners. Because bioethanol is clean burning, EcoSmart fireplaces do not require a chimney or flue, and no gas or electricity connections are required. Their fire pits in particular were attractive, and meet all of the new regulatory requirements for inside and outside use.
Flexibility with Style
A few of the exhibitors displayed the flexibility of their brands by participating in a sponsored outdoor living exhibit which enabled attendees to rest their feet while experiencing the products firsthand. The display featured Danver’s cook station, mobile planters, Brown Jordan chairs and an EcoSmart fire pit. It may have been the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, but it screamed poolside cookout on a truly elegant scale with versatility, flexibility and style.
