Sydney’s ICC was recently host to an array of hospitality industry professionals, designers and suppliers, for the 2-day specialist tradeshow No Vacancy / Hospitality Design Fair 2021. Coming just as Melbourne bunkered down for its fourth stint in lockdown, the showcase served as a timely reminder that right now is a pivotal moment in the grand scheme of hospitality.

Having gone from a period of mass growth and accessibility to one of caution and restriction, what will be the thing that sets hospitality venues apart from one another in the eyes of guests? It’s said that the guest experience is set to become the most valuable element of it all, transcending price and even location as the make or break factor in the trip research and planning process.

From a spatial and built environment design perspective, our gut is saying that curating sensory experiences and aesthetic wow factor will define the exemplary designs from the rest, from now and into the foreseeable future. With all that in mind, here are 5 exhibits we spotted at the Hospitality Design Fair 2021 that decidedly embodied that je ne sais quoi.

TSAR Carpets

Showcasing a preview of 2x designs from its upcoming Forma collection, launching in August 2021, TSAR Carpets played to our senses on multiple levels, through its masterful use of colour and materiality — as always. 

tsarcarpets.com

Markian

Markian is a new furniture and accessories design brand hailing from Brisbane. Fresh to the scene, the brand made its official tradeshow debut at the Hospitality Design Fair 2021, exhibiting its offering of striking design pieces, integrated designer/maker approach and inimitable customisation capabilities. We expect we’ll be seeing a lot more from Markian, and we can’t wait. 

markian.com.au

Kaolin

Surfaces were lacking amongst the Hospitality Design Fair exhibits overall, but Kaolin’s sustainable, ethical natural stone alternative, displayed in its impressive range of colourways and finishes more than made up for what was otherwise missing. 

kaolin.com.au

Gin Bar by CHADA featuring Design Nation and Materialised

With Limoncello and G&T’s supplied by gin gurus Earp Distilling Co, guests got into the spirit of things under the amazing Australian bushland backdrop, which the designers at CHADA interiors custom-designed, with Materialised, for the event. Rebecca Boland, associate at CHADA, presented the wall covering at a Design Talk, demonstrating how customisation further strengthens the design concept and narrative.

Furniture specified with an exacting eye and supplied by none other than Design Nation completed the quintessentially festive, Australian-inspired milieu.

 designnation.com.au

About Space

About Space’s exhibit was a showcase of the brand’s well rounded retail lighting range, while opening the conversation about its inimitable bespoke design offering for discussion with visitors seeking statement lighting designs. 

aboutspace.net.au