Hi Design Asia 2010

Arriving at Shangri La’s Rasa Ria Resort, delegates for the second HI Design Asia were treated to an impromptu performance by local musicians. The jovial beats somehow set the mood for the days ahead where conversations of recovery, increased revPAR, and new hotel developments were plentiful.

Keeping to the format of its well-established sister event in Europe, HI Design Asia kicked off with a welcome reception and dinner, to be followed by two packed days of seminars, one-to-one business meetings, a suppliers showcase, and further networking opportunities. A chat with the organisers – Atticus Events founders Jonathan Needs and James Burke – revealed that the concept itself, best described as “a business form of speed-dating”, originated from a business meetings forum held on board a cruise ship. Having launched HOTEC – a forum for hotel owners, developers and operators – in 2000, Needs and Burke identified a gap in the market for “what is essentially the most important part of business, the meeting between buyer and seller.” The first HI Design was held in Stockholm in 2006 and the event has since gone from strength to strength, launching in Asia in 2009 in the midst of an international financial crisis. “HI Design Asia has gone on to grow by 30% this year,” comments Burke, explaining: “Obviously the buoyancy of the Asia Pacific market has something to do with it but the region doesn’t have another design-led event and we’ve found that HI Design is a format the delegates here like.”

The success of the inaugural event in Penang last year has resulted in an increase in attendees in 2010 bringing the total number of hotel operators, purchasing companies, interior designers, and suppliers to 180. Around 50% of these are new delegates demonstrating the dynamic nature of HI Design and ensuring buyers with the most active pipelines are present.

Talking of pipelines, Jonas Ögren, Area Director Asia at STR Global, set the scene on the opening morning highlighting confirmed hospitality projects in the region as well as revealing year-on-year RevPAR data. Initial figures looked impressive with a 22.7% increase in RevPAR for year-to-September 2010, but closer inspection showed a shortfall of pre-recession levels given the 26.4% RevPAR decline for year-to-September 2009. The figures do however demonstrate the resilience of the region and what could become a speedy recovery. A closer look at Asia Pacific revealed that ten out of the eleven markets examined enjoyed positive RevPAR changes compared with just two the previous year. Shanghai and Hong Kong were the best performers with remarkable 62.6% and 35.9% increases respectively, Ögren explained. Occupancy and average room rate were again encouraging in comparison with 2009 figures, likely due to demand picking up.

As the presentation turned to pipeline, suppliers were keen to discover the true potential of the region. According to STR Global, 319 hotels, or 68,445 guestrooms, have opened in the last twelve months whilst a pipeline of 1065 hotels (259,898 guestrooms) were recorded as being under construction or in planning and final planning. Another 287 hotels (66,117 guestrooms) were said to be in the pre-planning stage. The overwhelming majority of pipeline was in China and India confirming these countries as development hotspots.

Sharing his experience of the hospitality industry in Asia, Warren Foster-Brown, founder of design firm F.B.Eye was interviewed on stage by presenter Guy Dittrich. Based out of Singapore, Foster-Brown confirmed seven active projects throughout Asia with several more on hold. “India is great for us right now,” he commented, citing projects for Starwood’s Le Meridien brand and a new four-star concept for Mahindra Hotels. When quizzed on current market conditions, the designer believed that the market was “coming back”, explaining that clients still want to spend the money but over a longer time frame. He was less optimistic about the Middle East however, stating that the firm had lost two projects with little hope of them resurrecting.

Kicking off day two was ‘The Sustainability Session’, a topic specifically requested by last year’s delegates. The F&B Design Director on the panel, Federico Masin at Hirsch Bedner Associates Hong Kong took to the stage to explain LEED Certification and how the firm achieved LEED status on a recent project. He commented that limited regulations in Asia meant it was “encouraging to see the designers take control.” Saeed Zaki, Managing Director at DWP, demonstrated his commitment to green issues and issued a stark reminder to owners and operators as to why this is such an important issue in hospitality: “Buildings are the world’s biggest pollutants accounting for 30-40% of energy use and hotels operate 24 hours a day.” Zaki shared DWP’s principle of ‘5Rs’ (Respect, Renew, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) and ‘3Ps’ (People, Project, Policy) that are practiced through all its projects. He also highlighted the role of owners and operators in creating a sustainable hotel but believed that it will be suppliers who make the biggest impact: “I’m waiting for the day when a supplier will only supply green materials.” A way forward was presented by Raefer Wallis, co-founder of A00 Architecture and founder of the GIGA Foundation. True advocates of designing of green spaces, A00’s portfolio includes over sixty built projects in China including Double-Hill Eco-Retreat (China’s first positive impact retreat) and Naked Stables Eco-Retreat (targeting LEED Platinum). It was Wallis’ work on URBN Shanghai, claimed to be China’s first green hotel, and Asia’s first carbon neutral hotel, that prompted him to set up the GIGA Foundation (www.gigabase.org), an internationally acclaimed organisation that conducts research into positive impact architecture and green building materials. Wallis’ presentation clearly struck a chord with the audience resulting in organisers confirming that products ranked on the ‘GIGAbase’ will be recognised in next year’s event guide.

The Operators Panel was once again a highly anticipated session with the region’s leading operators discussing what they want from the designers they appoint. Invited to the stage were Julian Liu, Project Director at Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Nigel Harris, Senior Vice President, Projects and Product Development at Onyx Hospitality Group, and Brian Diederich, Vice President, Asian Division for Wynn Design and Development. Each spoke of their development plans for the future: Liu announced expansion plans for Shangri La with a new lifestyle brand set to launch in 2011; Harris spoke of the luxury Saffron brand and three-star Ozo brand under the recently launched Onyx Hospitality; and Diederich, currently designing a new property on the Cotai Strip, revealed that Wynn is looking for opportunities in Asia and India.

As talk turned to brand standards, which designers often say restrict their creativity, Diederich argued that Wynn’s standards are “more functional” detailing the position of light switches or height of the door for example. “That doesn’t mean we tell the designer how to design the guest experience,” he commented. “What I look for in an interior designer is innovation and fresh ideas.” Harris offered a more open approach stating that each of his three brands have just a one-page summary of standards leaving it open for the interior designer to interpret.

As the event drew to a close with an evening of traditional dancing and drums, the future of the hotel industry in Asia looked positive. As for the future of HI Design, Sleeper has it on good authority that Atticus Events is looking to other parts of the world, namely South America, to expand the forum.