BOND Five Star 2022
The Forum for EMEA’s Leading Five Star Hotel Designers
December 10-13, 2022
Abu Dhabi, UAE
EMEA’s Most Exclusive Luxury Hotel Designers and Hospitality Design Firms in One Place
Getting specified for five star hotel projects in Europe and the Middle East isn’t easy, especially if it’s a new marketplace for you. There are many regional factors to contend with but in the end, it comes down to two things: what you know and who you know. BOND Five Star EMEA can help you with both.
Let’s start with who comes.
If you scroll down you’ll get a snapshot of what to expect. But you really need to get the full list of buyers confirmed so far for this year to give this proper context.
Around 50 of EMEA’s top luxury hotel designers and hospitality design firms will be with us in Abu Dhabi this December. That means the busiest, most influential five star hotel designers in the Middle East in one place, relaxed and ready to talk.
Now consider the time, effort and expense it would take to even try to get in front of this number and calibre of decision maker and you’ll start to appreciate what’s on offer here.
These are the people who decide who gets specified for the major luxury hotel projects throughout EMEA and beyond. And if they don’t have confirmed five star hotel projects on their books, they don’t get invited.
Attendees
We pre-qualify designers to meet the following criteria:
1. Principal, Director, Vice President
2. Significant portfolio of five star hotel projects in Europe, Middle East and Africa
3. Global hotel brand or top architecture/design firm
Leaders in luxury hospitality design who attended in 2019 include:
Anne Becker-Olins
SVP Design & Technical Services - LUXURY Europe
Accor Hotels
Paul Bevis
Senior Director of Design
and Construction
Four Seasons Hotels
& Resorts
Chris Webb
VP Architecture & Design EMEA
Hilton Worldwide
Jaime Nadal
Director of Technical
Services & Design
Six Senses Resorts & Spas
Geraldine Dohogne
Interior Designer
Zannier Hotels
Francis Pereira
Senior Design Architect
Wimberly Interiors (WATG)
Joanne Teoh
Global Head of Interior Design
Millennium Hotels
and Resorts
Thomas Ito, FAIA, LEEP AP
Principal & Global Head of Hospitality
Gensler
How it works
As with all BOND Events, it starts with a series of private, one-to-one meetings between EMEA’s five star hotel designers and vendors that each have selected before the event. So you know exactly who’s coming and who you’re going to meet before the event. And this is just the start…
You are all together for 3 days and 3 nights, away from the distractions of studio and office environments, in a uniquely relaxed set up where you can properly get to know each other, and this is where the hotel project trail really lights up. Because this goes way beyond luxury hotel project leads – this is about relationships and connections and the very real collaborative possibilities that come from them.
EMEA’s Top Luxury Hotel Designers and Hospitality Design Firms come to BOND Five Star to get away from hotel project pressures to find inspiration and to connect with solutions providers who can help them deliver something outstanding for their clients. And if you want to get a true understanding of the needs and aspirations of EMEA’s five star hotel project leaders and have some interesting solutions to discuss, you may just have found your platform.
Still a bit cynical? Some testimonials might help. Or a video? Better still, have a conversation with us because it’s hard to make this real for you simply through words on our website. You may want to talk to some people who have already attended BOND Five Star to get things from their side and we’d be happy to point you in the right direction.
For suppliers, BOND Five Star EMEA is the best way, bar none, to win hearts and minds at EMEA’s most exclusive luxury hospitality design firms.
For luxury hotel designers, the value lies in re-connecting with peers and discovering the best solutions to your design challenges from the experts who will be your lifeline.
Great selection of attendees and a chance to make wonderful new contacts. I was not sure what to expect from this event but it turned out to be wonderful, very worthwhile and I would certainly attend again.
Patricia Holler
Program
Seminar timings and/or content may vary at our discretion
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Day 4
Saturday, December 10
Seminar - Masterpieces from the Louvre
Andrew Graham-Dixon
Synopsis
A free-ranging exploration of a select group of master paintings from the Louvre Museum, from the age of Louis XIV to the age of Revolution and into the nineteenth century. Examining the ways in which art reflects the values of culture and society and can be a medium for the expression of philosophical, ethical and political ideas and ideals.
Biography
Andrew is an expert on Italian Art and Architecture. In his home country, he is best know for a massively successful BBC series ”Italy Unpacked” which he presented with the Chef Giorgio Locatelli. In fact, he has presented more television documentaries about art for the BBC than anyone else in the Corporation's history. He is one of the world’s leading art critics with a weekly column in the Sunday Telegraph (one of the UK’s leading newspapers), having written more than a million words on all aspects of the visual arts.Sunday, December 11
Seminar - Luxury hotel performance: what does the data tell us?
Alex Robinson | Director, Industry Partners, STR Global
Synopsis
The hospitality industry has proved its resilience once more, emerging from the pandemic faster than many expected. Hotel rates are well above 2019 and city centre occupancies, which were once mired, are now closing in on their pre-pandemic levels; however, 2022 is not without a new set of challenges: inflation, rising costs, and staff shortages. We know the industry is resilient, but what can we expect for 2022 and beyond?
Biography
Alex leads STR’s AM:PM platform and is focused on scaling the product across STR’s global supply and pipeline databases. He began his career in New York, gaining experience in fixed income with Lazard, Merrill Lynch, and Scotia Capital. He then moved into the hospitality industry when he joined Expedia’s sales and development team, working in both their New York and San Francisco offices. Alex subsequently moved to London for HotelTonight, with responsibility of managing partnerships with global brands and industry organizations. He joined STR in August 2016.
Seminar - Building Civilization in the Age of Globalization
Marwa Al-Sabouni | Architect & Author, Sibat Architects
Synopsis
Throughout the history of human civilization, architecture has been the tool by which we have our left our mark on the earth. However, in a time when architectural merit is most often measured according to size, scale, and quantity, accompanied by our conflicting realization of the perils consumerism and global growth represent, we need to remember that the way we build not only marks human existence but also defines the way forward for our continued existence. With pandemics, conflicts, climate and economic crises, humanity is being forced to rethink its choices. Architecture must be at the forefront of this process. It’s not enough to merely build for shelter or to impress, the responsibility of building must address the key questions that led to the building of civilizations, the pinnacle of human achievement, without leading to it’s destruction that we are witnessing around the world. How do we find balance in an age that is notorious for its speed and connectivity which are surpassing all of our endeavors to tame their negative impacts on civilization? We realize that in order to reap the fruits of our globalized progress for humanity, we are placing too much on the alter of technology. What architecture can do about it, is the question.
Biography
Dr. Marwa Al-Sabouni is an award-winning architect, author and an international speaker from Syria. She has received the Prince Claus Award in 2018, and ranked in the BBC 100 Women 2019.
Her acclaimed book The Battle for Home was chosen in the Guardian as one of best architectural books 2016, and was named by the UK Prospect Magazine as one of the Top 50 thinkers around the World.
Her TED Talk was among the best of TED talks 2016 and was viewed over one million times. The Architectural Digest listed her as one of the top contenders for the Pritzker Prize 2018. Her second book Building for Hope was published in 2021. And she is a Fellow at Ralston College USA.
She took part on different platforms around the world such as the Sydney Opera House and the World Economic Forum.
Her writings have been published in RIBA Journal, Architectural Review, Financial Times, Standpoint Magazine, ICRC Journal among others.
She runs a private studio with her partner in their city Homs. And co-founder of Arch-news (www.arch-news.net) the world's first and only website dedicated to architectural news in Arabic and the winner of Royal Kuwaiti award for best media project in the Arab World 2010.
Monday, December 12
Seminar - The True Essence of Upscale Design
Jeremy Heyes | Senior Vice President, Wimberly Interiors (WATG)
Synopsis
In August 2000 WATG welcomed an unexpected visitor to their London Studio. During the ensuing conversation the visitor represented the Abu Dhabi ruling family he described the vision of the UAE hosting the next GCC conference in a purpose-built palace at the end of the corniche in Abu Dhabi. The property was to be the ultimate luxury hotel and conference venue and WATG were invited to compete with two other architectural companies to submit design proposals. So began a 5-year design and process that redefined hospitality in Abu Dhabi and significant architectural gesture that together with the presidential palace next door define a response to a culturally sensitive campus of civic buildings.
• The evolution of the project brief to a conference venue for the UAE Emirs to meet as well
• Clear organisational clarity to meet protocol requirements
• Careful selection of material palette
• The intellectual rigour behind the selection of the Islamic decoration and pattern
• The procurement of the project, construction management/package contractors
and onsite design office
Today the hospitality landscape has changed significantly but luxury destination hotels are still playing a key role in the development and urban fabric of world cities and their architectural and design scene. We shall illustrate this two recent WATG projects within the region that opened in the last year. The Ritz Carlton Amman, Jordan, and the startling different Waldorf Astoria, Lusail, Qatar. Both projects have very similar area programmes and size of development, and both embody the true essence of upper upscale hospitality design.
Biography
With more than 35 years of global experience in planning and architecture, Jeremy has a wide-ranging background. His highly creative design and project management expertise spans hotels, entertainment and leisure resort facilities, and residential developments the world over.
Since joining WATG in 1992, Jeremy’s portfolio has grown to feature some of the firm’s most iconic legacy projects, including the major civic landmark Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, which encompasses more than 270,000 sqm in built area and a beachside elevation of over two kilometres. He was the senior project architect for the original US$65 million refurbishment of Claridge’s Hotel in London, and was design and development lead for LEGOLand Windsor Resort, England, which is renowned for its innovative design that continues to delight children and adults alike.
More recently, Jeremy has been at the helm of new openings including the Ritz-Carlton Amman and Chedi Katara, as well as the award-winning St. Regis Astana Hotel and Residences and Porto Montenegro.
Jeremy is currently serving his third term on the WATG Board of Directors.
Seminar - How to Design with your Ears
Julian Treasure | Sound & Communication Expert, The Sound Agency Ltd
Synopsis
Sound expert, author and five-time TED speaker Julian Treasure explores the huge opportunity to design sound that’s appropriate, delightful, and congruent with visual branding in hotels. He will viscerally demonstrate the four powerful ways in which sound affects guests and staff alike and show how our senses interrelate so that that design can never be truly complete if it focuses on the eyes alone. He will then explore the shocking extent of a global problem: noise, which adversely affects happiness, effectiveness and wellbeing in many environments – including hotels – and reveal the four simple steps to excellent sound design, including some tips on beneficial sound and a brand-new tool. He will end with an introduction to audio branding with some real-world examples, showing how to create sound that’s not only effective but also iconic and memorable.
Biography
Julian Treasure is a sought-after and top-rated international speaker. Collectively his five (yes five) TED talks on various aspects of sound and communication have been viewed more than 80 million times. His talk How To Speak So That People Want To Listen is in the top 10 TED talks of all time.
Julian's first book, Sound Business, is the seminal work on creating effective business sound, now in its second edition and also published in Japanese. His audio branding company The Sound Agency works with major brands worldwide proving that good sound is good business and pioneering the use of generative soundscapes instead of mindless music in spaces like airports, shopping malls and offices.
His second book, How To Be Heard: Secrets for Powerful Speaking and Listening, is a practical guide to improving the vital personal communication skills of listening and speaking (both public and private), which have been eroded by our ocular culture, including our obsession with screens. The book includes many simple exercises; interviews with experts; and potent, transformational concepts gleaned from 30 years' experience as a speaker with a passion for listening.
Julian has been widely featured as a sound and communication expert in the world's media, including TIME Magazine; The Economist; The Times; and many international TV and radio stations and podcasts. He is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Marketors, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a long time musician, remembering with affection his two 1981 BBC John Peel sessions (the bands were Transmitters and Missing Presumed Dead). He lives in Orkney, Scotland with Jane and their daughter Holly.
