Welcome to our annual hospitality issue! Good news for this market is that it looks like travelers and consumers have jumped back in with both feet (and their disposable income in hand).
According to Chase Travel, they got their spring and summer getaways booked early, with a 59% increase year-over-year in summer 2024 trip bookings as of November 2023. There was a 40% increase YoY in 5-star hotel stays in 2023 and fans have been “on their game” too. For example, back in January there was a 115% YoY increase in travel to Melbourne for the Australia Open and a 39% YoY increase to Salt Lake City for the Sundance Film Festival.
If this issue is any indication of why, I’d say there’s an overwhelming movement of brands reaching milestones and having the courage to reimagine themselves once they get there, rather than just operating status quo.
Take the Grand Hotel for example (page 32), on Mackinac Island, Michigan, constructed in the late 19th century. Anyone in the know on this property will tell you that it represents an old-school, bygone era of hospitality. Think servers in white uniform, formal attire for dinner—very affluent Americana (or at least pretending to be for your stay.) Dorothy Draper, the godmother of interior decoration, even worked on the original interiors. Hotel operator Davidson Hospitality, who has been managing and directing a years-long renovation project on this legend, actually re-engaged Dorothy Draper & Company for part of it, not to mention implemented a $10 million Esther Williams Pool renovation, a new recreation center and restaurants, suite updates and even façade restoration as a Historic National Landmark.
You can also check out Guinness’ only second stake in the ground for their U.S. breweries with the Open Gate Brewery Chicago, with interiors by Studio K (who seriously knocked it out of the park BTW as you’ll see from the visuals on page 42). The space offers up a new experience for lovers of this dark brew by reimagining iconic brand symbols into powerful design elements.
We also dive into the story of Atlanta’s Hendrick, celebrating its 50th anniversary as a firm this year—no small feat—in our Industry section on page 10. Not to mention one of the most influential shows in our industry, Salone del Mobile, had its 62nd edition this month, breaking even more new ground with an installation from filmmaker David Lynch entitled “Interiors by David Lynch. A Thinking Room,” and layout changes to the show driven by the extensive neuroscience research of Milanese studio Lombardini22. We picked out a few product highlights in our show review on page 50.
Speaking of, tradeshow season is about to kick off as I write this. We can’t wait to see so many of our friends and colleagues out and about. Drop me a note at [email protected] and let me know where you’ll be!
AnnMarie Martin | Editor-in-Chief
