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Sleep celebrates its 10th anniversary with a conference designed for disruption

This year’s two-day, free-to-attend conference at London’s Business Design Centre on 24-25 November ups the ante with exciting opportunities to engage with key decision-makers, along with provocative sessions that invite visitors to shape the future of an industry they love.

LONDON – After a phenomenal ten years of investigating the trends and setting the new ones, Sleep, the European hotel design industry’s most anticipated annual event, surges ahead with a conference planned to spark passionate debates about the hottest topics and noteworthy developments that are transforming hospitality. This year’s two-day, free-to-attend conference at London’s Business Design Centre on 24-25 November ups the ante with exciting opportunities to engage with key decision-makers, along with provocative sessions that invite visitors to shape the future of an industry they love.  

Conference
Will Meyer and Gray Davis arrive from New York on the first day of the conference. Conference chair Guy Dittrich, Editor at Large for Sleeper Magazine, will chat with Meyer Davis about their recent projects including the redesign of the Paramount in NYC and 1 Hotel South Beach Miami. The keynote session on the second day of the conference sees Martin Brudnizki divulge his secret recipes for creating award-winning restaurant and hotel designs.

On hand to deconstruct the process of hotel branding will be Professor Angela Roper, who is currently conducting an industry-wide study about the topic as director of the International Centre for Hotel & Resort Management at the University of West London, along with Philippe Perd, Senior Vice President Operations and Project Development of the Oetker Collection, the operators of London’s recently renovated Lanesborough Hotel, and Mark Jory, founder of the international branding agency, Latitude. With newcomers like Curio and Canopy by Hilton; Tribute Portfolio and Sheraton Grand by Starwood; plus Moxy and Autograph by Marriott, the hotel brands are multiplying like rabbits. This panel of experts will explore the merits of having such a wide spectrum and question whether they are in fact bringing differentiation – or if they all start to seem the same in the minds of guests.

Simon Hudspeth, Principal of Hotel Investment and Asset Management, will moderate a panel examining the prospects for global hotel development. Joining him are experts at the top of their game: Tim Walton, Vice President of International Development at Marriott; Johanna Lundstrom, Development Director of UK, Germany and Northern Europe for Melia Hotels; and Eric Jafari, MD of Union Hanover Securities. They will consider questions such as: Where in the new-build hotel development cycle are the UK and European markets – and where is there opportunity and appetite for more? What new brands and new products are coming to market now? What makes a hotel development successful and for whom… the developer, the investor, the operator, the brand – or even the customer? What are the most common barriers to profitable hotel development? Don’t miss this chance to learn if a dip is inevitable now that the industry is at its peak, and what can be done to avoid a drop.  

This November hear from a “design dream team” composed of the best of the best directors from top hospitality design studios around the globe. Shaking things up are Ariane Steinbeck of RPW Design, Wilson Associates’ Tristan Auer, Alex Michaelis from Michaelis Boyd, Margaret McMahon of Wimberly Interiors and Seyhan Ozdemir from Autoban – all highly informed industry authorities who have seen it all. With hotel projects ranging from the world’s most prestigious brands, independent boutiques and luxurious resorts to high-style but lower budget renovations, conversions and new-builds, this dynamic panel will draw upon their encyclopaedic design knowledge to debate how to make design pay and invite audience members to join in the action.

Investigating one of the hottest areas of growth in the European hotel scene will be a panel of pros revealing how conversions offer practically unbounded potential for developers and designers. Development expert Bart Carnahan, SVP Development at Starwood Hotels & Resorts will divulge how to get the best return on investment, while design professional Michal Kus, Director at AHR Architects, will share the challenges posed by the conversion process.

Making its debut at this year’s conference is Sleep Essentials, rapid tutorials offering designers and independent hotel owners the chance to discover more about the latest drivers of change in a variety of sectors. Delegates will join small group sessions with the industry’s leading specialists to discover what they need to know to be at their best, meet fellow colleagues who just might be in their next project team, and experts who could help them take their design practices to the next level. And for independent hoteliers, the forum is a perfect opportunity to get ideas for their future projects from top consultants all gathered in one room. Participants will be rewarded with face time from the likes of landscape architect, Phil Jaffa; lighting designer, Sally Storey; branding expert, Gillon Campbell; procurement specialist, Daniel Englender; and art curator Tal Danai.

One of the more controversial topics to be discussed will be whether hotel designers even have a role at all in a digital world where “everyone is a designer now”. In the age of social media, online design and product libraries, and any number of TV DIY programmes, is the hotel designer dead? Amongst those offering their viewpoints will be Maria Vafiadis, founder of hospitality interior architecture studio MKV Design, and Rose Etherington, former editor of Dezeen and now founder of Clippings.com which enables shoppers to purchase designer furniture directly from its creators.

Returning in 2015 are the hugely popular Round Tables in partnership with Benjamin West where delegates are invited to pose their burning questions to selected industry influencers as they move from table to table. Developers, investors, hotel owners, and more will be present, offering expert insight into issues of growth, funding, ownership, collaboration, new-build properties and conversions.

Convergence
The subject of Convergence, another new attraction at this year’s Sleep event, is timely as lifestyle brands like Ace and CitizenM continue to soar in popularity with hybrid lobby concepts that merge work and shared living spaces, while hotels like Claridge’s and the Mondrian South Bank have recently ventured into the realm of luxurious fitness clubs with celebrity trainers for both guests and private members. A platform of installations and conference presentations, this feature will examine the transformation of spatial use within modern hotels. Acclaimed architecture and design practice Perkins+Will has thought-provoking plans to consider each different area within a hotel and develop a design proposal tailored to the needs of today’s professionals for whom the office is increasingly becoming an abstract idea. Il Prisma, with its mission to “redefine habits”, will create a concept called inside/outside that evaluates how people live in their private and public lives, along with the physical and digital factors in business and leisure. Jane Lawrence, Director of Interior Design at the Manser Practice, will bring her perspective to the stage, sharing her insights into the ways in which the world experiences design.

Sleep Set and Sleep Bar
Following a theme of fantasy and imagination, the 2015 Sleep Set competition and Sleep Bar are guided by the concept ‘Wondertales’ which invites designers to interpret fairytales and folklore from around the world. Translating this theme into guestroom designs that will be realised at the show are Sleep Set contenders THE STUDIO, Harrods, Anita Rosato Interior Design, Shaun Clarkson ID, Oliver Heath Studio and Areen Hospitality. Each will explain their response to the brief during an afternoon conference session. The competition will culminate with the announcement of the winner on Tuesday, 24 November at 7pm at the Sleep Bar, this year created by Conran + Partners who know a thing or two about bar design. Sleep Set contestants will also be the judges for a new student Pinterest competition also inspired by the ‘Wondertales’ theme, with the shortlisted entries to be displayed at the event.

Snoozebox Competition
An additional new contest gathering momentum with an unprecedented amount of interest and over 160 enquires thus far is Sleep’s partnership with the award-winning portable hotel company, Snoozebox. Entrants are invited to submit by the extended deadline of 18 September a flexible design that transforms a shipping container into an ensuite guestroom, with the winner to be announced 28 September. This allows enough time for a Snoozebox to be fitted-out with the victorious concept for display at the Sleep event. Find out more about the Snoozebox Competition here.

Exhibitors
Every year Sleep handpicks a collection of both new and returning exhibitors to ensure visitors are treated to design innovations that will provide the “wow” factor and competitive edge in their projects.

Both larger manufacturers and bespoke artisans from around the world will be revealing their latest ranges of exciting and original products, including The Vintage Fridge Company, Cosentino, Light Years, Timorous Beasties, Forbo Flooring, Clarke & Clarke, Johnson Tiles, Sensio, OW Hospitality and Grohe – Sleep’s Founder Partner which will also showcase a variety of their newest designs as well as host the VIP lounge.

“Whilst the Sleep conference has continued to evolve over the last decade, it’s really come into its own during the last two years – and the 2015 event is going to be the best yet,” says Kali Nicholson, Sleep Brand Director. “It’s such an exciting time for the hospitality sector, as design has never been more recognised as an asset that differentiates a hotel’s worth, both within established markets as well as burgeoning ones and across all budgets. The disruption sparked by peer-to-peer lodging means creative spaces and guest comfort are coming to the fore as ways that hotels can strengthen their competitive edge. Joining the Sleep community not only rewards visitors with revealing insights into top industry issues, it also opens networking doors to relationships that can be sustained long after the event.”

Sleep is on 24th & 25th November with a late opening until 8pm on Tuesday 24th where visitors can enjoy the design inspiration and networking opportunities during the show’s cocktail hour from 6-7pm.

Sleep’s official Event Partner is the European Hotel Design Awards which will culminate in a dinner on the evening of Monday 23 November when the winners will be announced in a glittering ceremony at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London.

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Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.

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