HIX 2024: Adventures in Hotel Design

HIX LDN – Europe’s leading hotel design event – is back for 2024 with more of the best hotel interior experiences. Bringing the hospitality design community together for two days of networking, talks, installations, and an exhibition of over 160 leading interior design brands, HIX is a true celebration of everything that makes hotels incredible.

Registration is open – Click here!

Last year, HIX welcomed 4,280 guests to London’s Business Design Centre, including architects, designers, operators, developers, investors, project managers, specifiers and more. Gathering the entire hotel supply chain under one roof, HIX returns on 27 & 28 November with new spaces, new experiences, a new theme, and a newly expanded exhibition of the latest interior products.  

HIX LDN returns to London’s Business Design Centre on 27 & 28 November for a true celebration of everything that makes hotels incredible

Theme

The theme for this year’s HIX, ‘a sense of place’, explores the unique connections that exist between a hotel and the area it serves – be that a specific building, a neighbourhood, a district or an entire city. As guests seek out increasingly authentic localised experiences, tapping into these connections has become a key marker of both commercial and cultural success. As such, designers have been tasked with facilitating organic, sustainable relationships with close-knit surrounding communities.

Every element of the HIX 2024 programme will be guided by this idea; from the topics up for debate on the HIX Talks stage and the form of the event’s signature HIX installation, to the soundtrack and menus at one of the many industry networking receptions.

Expo

Featuring a curated selection of over 160 cutting-edge design brands, the HIX show floor represents the best of the bathroom, surface, technology, furnishing and fabric sectors – a one stop shop with everything you need to bring the guest experience to life. This year’s line-up includes returning HIX favourites like GROHE, Laufen, Roca, Hansgrohe, Chelsom, Panaz, Hypnos and PS Interiors, along new members of the HIX exhibitor community like Cane-line, Woodio, Pablo Designs, Frandsen and Bensen.

Elsewhere, back for a third year, Collection is HIX’s expo-within-an-expo comprising a micro-edit of 30 European labels presenting exclusive new products, while the all-new Gallery Hall adds 30 new stands and activation areas served by their own programme of content.

Commercial Interiors UK exclusive map highlights all Commercial Interiors UK members in attendance at HIX 2024, allowing you to experience the quality and creativity that define our association’s members. Whether you’re a designer, specifier, or operator, this map ensures you connect with the best in the industry! Download you copy HERE

Talks

How is the rise of responsible tourism changing hotel design? Is hotel F&B the key to unlocking an authentic local experience? Will hotels evolve to be more like homes? HIX Talks asks the big hotel design questions with a lineup of the industry’s brightest minds. This year’s speakers include Marriott, IHG, Hilton, Accor, AvroKO, Nomadic Escapes, Luxury Frontiers, Squire & Partners, Holloway Li, Studio Lost, Richmond International and more.

Running parallel, a newly launched series of breakout talks curated by HIX partners Design Anthology UK, Festival of Hospitality and Studio Skov will complement the main programme with discussions centred around branding, investment and the future of travel. Taking place on the new Gallery Stage, these breakout sessions include panels, presentations and intimate one-on-one chats with the people and perspectives shaping the future of hotel design.

Design Insider’s Editorial Director, Alys Bryan will be moderating two key talks within this year’s programme:

A Seat at the Table: Creating a sense of place with hotel F&B
Wednesday 27th Nov 12:00

As hotel operators target increasingly tight-knit communities with the promise of hyperlocal guest experiences, what role does F&B play in generating an authentic sense of place, and how can designers ensure restaurants and bars balance local representation with global appeal?

Tom Chalmers, Principal & COO – AvroKO
Elisa Rodriguez Checa, Co-founder & Creative Director – Checa Woid Interiors
George Blower, Senior Creative Lead, Brand F&B Development, EMEA – Hilton

The Journey is the Reward: Hospitality design in the new golden age of travel

Thursday 28th Nov 14:00

As the travel sector enjoys a record-breaking 2024, major hotel groups are looking to capitalise with transport concepts that extend the hospitality experience beyond four walls. What does a new golden age of travel mean for the next generation of rail, cruise and aviation designs, and how will this change the guest experience?

Fiona Thompson, Principal – Richmond International
Mike Davies, Associate Creative Director – PriestmanGoode
Max Pinucci, Head of Design – Oceansky Cruises

Installations

Each year, HIX collaborates with leading hotel designers to create immersive installations that push the boundaries of the hospitality experience. In 2022, HIX worked with WeWantMore and organic material artist Côme Di Meglio to develop the world’s first mycelium bar, whilst 2023 upped the stakes with a pair of spaces by Blacksheep and MIXD that showcased two distinct ‘rooms with a point of view’.

This year, under the guiding mantra of ‘a sense of place’, the signature HIX installation will mark the event’s largest and most ambitious project yet. Partnering with four leading hospitality design studios in Purcell, 3Stories, Atellior and 4Corners Design, this year’s project sees the team reimagine Islington’s iconic Business Design Centre as a hospitality experience.

Presented as a large-scale multimedia gallery within a space by set designers Cloud & Horse, each vision draws from a deep-dive historical report on the building and local area by heritage consultants Historic Productions, and celebrates the power of locality, community and heritage in hotel design.

Commercial Interiors UK Supplier Breakfast

Commercial Interiors UK (CIUK) is delighted to invite you to our Commercial Interiors UK Supplier Breakfast, supported by HIX! This free event is offered exclusively to CIUK members and our invited design community guests.

Register to join us here

Date: Thursday, 28th November 2024

Time: 9:00 – 9:45 AM (check-in from 8:45 AM)

Location: The Business Design Centre showroom is on the ground floor, in the entrance area opposite the Roca stand. Map Link

Start your day with a delicious breakfast and connect with fellow CIUK members, designers, and industry leaders. This is a fantastic opportunity to socialise with our commercial interior community before exploring the HIX event.

Our CIUK team will greet you from 8:45 AM onwards, ready to guide you to the showroom and ensure you have a wonderful morning.

This exclusive event is for CIUK members and designer guests. Come along to enjoy breakfast and networking before the HIX show!

HIX LDN 2024 takes place on 27 & 28 November at London’s Business Design Centre. Register to attend for free at www.hixevent.com and join the hospitality design community for a true celebration of hotel design.

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About Alys Bryan

Alys is a knowledgeable design editor who is focused on instigating conversations, both online and in-person, with industry experts which challenge, educate and advance the commercial interior sector. Her training and 15 years of professional experience as a furniture designer for the commercial sector makes her uniquely placed to lead Design Insider as Editor
View all posts by Alys Bryan →