Contract - April 2016 - 22

PHOTO: MEG WALTON

EDITORIAL

A Global Look at Hospitality

Our April issue is focused on outstanding hospitality interiors worldwide.
But I expect that the projects featured offer both inspiration and
lessons learned for designers of all other interior project types, as well.
The selection of projects is intentionally broad and wide-ranging, from
fantastical to sublime, from exuberant sophistication to quiet hipness.
The South Congress Hotel (page 96) might be most appealing
to a young, cool clientele that appreciates the spare beauty of
the accommodations as a calm respite after enjoying Austin's SoCo
nightlife. Halfway across the world in Macau, China, the JW Marriott
and Ritz-Carlton (page 66) are completely different: elegant and
perhaps lavish to attract the new money of Chinese tourists. In Hong
Kong, the Foxglove lounge (page 60) literally envelops patrons
in a sumptuous experience expected in a James Bond film. In New York,
the restaurant Vandal (page 54) by David Rockwell both references
the gritty Bowery of the past while creating a new vision for downtown
culture. Dutch design icon Marcel Wanders shows how, plainly, hotel
interiors can be fun in the whimsical Kameha Grand Zurich (page 88,
and cover), where inspiration is taken from both Swiss banking and
chocolate. And in South Korea, architect Richard Meier has completed
his first building, a hotel called Seamarq (page 74) that connects his
finely crafted Modern architecture with the landscape of a seacoast.
A look at the numbers
As we examine the hospitality industry more broadly, it is useful
to review key hotel construction data. The hotel industry is in the midst
of robust growth, both in the U.S. and abroad, and that is expected
to continue through 2017. According to Lodging Econometrics, the
pipeline forecast for the construction of new hotel rooms (a combination
of those in early planning, starting construction in the next year,
or now under construction) in the U.S. is 625,000 in 2016 and 675,000
in 2017. The number of new hotel rooms in the pipeline back in 2011
was 335,000, and the numbers have steadily and consistently risen
22

since then. The previous peak was in the second quarter of 2008,
when 785,000 new hotel rooms were in the pipeline in this country,
and it appears that we are on pace to reach that number again soon.
Not only are the numbers increasing, but the rate of growth
is increasing too. The number of actual new hotel rooms completed
in the U.S. is expected to be about 94,600 in 2016, and likely 114,000
in 2017, according to Lodging Econometrics. That is a significant
increase from 53,090 completed in 2013, 63,320 in 2014, and 78,800
in 2015. The top markets for hotel construction activity in the U.S. now
are (1) New York with 33,900 rooms in the pipeline, (2) Houston with
18,600 rooms, (3) Los Angeles with 15,600 rooms, (4) Washington, D.C.,
with 14,800 rooms, and (5) Dallas with 12,900 rooms. The next five
cities are Miami, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, and Austin.
Looking globally, the numbers show tremendous activity
in Asian cities, where the top markets for hotel construction activity
are (1) Seoul with 26,300 rooms in the pipeline, (2) Chengdu with
23,500 rooms, (3) Jakarta with 22,900 rooms, (4) Shanghai with 22,100
rooms, and (5) Guangzhou with 18,600 rooms. In Europe and Russia,
the top markets for hotel construction activity are (1) London with
11,200 rooms in the pipeline, (2) Moscow with 8,600 rooms, (3) Istanbul
with 5,900 rooms, (4) Amsterdam with 4,400 rooms, and (5) Berlin with
4,300 rooms. In Latin America, the top markets for hotel construction
activity are (1) Rio de Janeiro with 10,700 rooms in the pipeline,
undoubtedly fueled by the forthcoming Olympics this summer,
(2) Sao Paulo with 7,600 rooms, (3) Campinas, Brazil, with 6,700 rooms,
(4) Cancun with 3,400 rooms, and (5) Nassau, Bahamas, with 2,400
rooms. It is an exciting time, indeed, for hotel developers and designers,
and growth continues worldwide.
Save the dates for HD Expo and ICFF
As readers may know, Contract is published by Emerald Expositions,
which also produces a number of design-related trade shows in our
industry, including HD Expo (May 4-6 in Las Vegas) and ICFF (May
14-17 in New York). In this issue, see our previews of select products
that will be exhibited at HD Expo (page 46) and ICFF (page 48),
and we will see you there!
Sincerely,
John Czarnecki, Assoc. AIA, Hon. IIDA
Editor in Chief
Visit contractdesign.com/editorial to read all of Editor in Chief
John Czarnecki's editorials
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Contract - April 2016

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